WORK AND PENSIONS

Industrial Diseases

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) representations have been received and  (b) discussions have been held by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials from his Department on insurance and liability arrangements with regard to asbestos-related deaths and ill health due to industrial activity in the last five years; what requests to change those arrangements have been made of the Government; and what the outcome of these representations and discussions has been.

James Purnell: Ministers and officials in the Department for Work and Pensions have met and received representations on numerous occasions in the last five years from a wide range of stakeholders on insurance and liability arrangements with regard to asbestos-related deaths and ill health due to industrial activity.
	Among the changes made as a result of these representations the Government provided more information and guidance to claimants and practitioners. More precisely, we published improved guidance on mesothelioma explaining the help available and where to find it, we provided best practice advice to industrial injuries disablement benefits claims handlers and we undertook public awareness activity to encourage claimants to use qualified, experienced legal practitioners when making a claim.
	We also introduced standardised approaches to claiming civil damages by introducing a Standard Claim Letter. To facilitate the speeding up of payment of claims to people with mesothelioma, changes were introduced in the Compensation Act 2006 to enable defendant employers/insurers to claim money back from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
	We have worked extensively with partners. We have conducted annual reviews of the Code of Practice for tracing Employers' Liability Insurance policies to ensure the Code is comprehensive and has user confidence. HM Revenue and Customs now trace employer records for people with mesothelioma within 10 working days (previously 25-30 days). The Association of British Insurers (ABI ) has issued a claims handling best practice guide within the industry, and has introduced a Code of Practice phone enquiries helpline and issued guidance on getting the best out of the Code. Working with the Department for Business, we have now removed the need to resurrect insolvent companies in order to access ELCI policies, and working with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, we have helped make it easier for them to compensate people with mesothelioma more quickly.
	We have introduced a new scheme for making payments to people with diffuse mesothelioma. The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 introduced a lump-sum payment scheme for people with diffuse mesothelioma who can receive a payment of an average of £10,000 within 6 weeks of claiming (the payment is recovered if any subsequent civil damages are awarded). The scheme started on 1 October 2008.
	We have reduced the compliance costs of regulations relating to the display of Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance certificates. The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (which came into force on 1 October 2008) allowed companies to display certificates electronically when employees have reasonable access to the certificate in that form, and removed the requirement for employers to retain certificates for 40 years.
	We have asked questions about the possible reform of the current Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) scheme in the consultation document, "No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility". The consultation asks questions on IIDB: How might we reform Bereavement Benefit and IIDB to provide better support to help people adjust to their new circumstances while maintaining the work focus of the modern welfare state? Are lump sum payments a good way of meeting people's needs? Do they give people more choice and control? Could we make more use of them? The consultation ends on 22 October 2008.
	We continue to have discussions with insurers, employers, trades unions, lawyers and other interested parties.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of those on jobseeker's allowance (JSA) have previously been recipients of JSA without an intervening period of employment; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available.

Maternity Benefits

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing time for maternity allowance claims was in each quarter in each of the last five years.

James Purnell: holding answer 15 September 2008
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested. The letter will be placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the average processing time for Maternity Allowance claims in each quarter in each of the last five years. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The time it takes to process Maternity Allowance applications is measured by counting the average length of time taken to clear all claims processed within a set time period. The measure is referred to as the Average Actual Clearance Time.
	The average processing time for Maternity Allowance claims in each quarter in each of the last five years is contained in the table below.
	
		
			  Maternity allowance average actual clearance time (AACT) 
			  Period  AACT(days) 
			  2003-04  
			 Quarter 1 13.2 
			 Quarter 2 13.8 
			 Quarter 3 13.8 
			 Quarter 4 13.3 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Quarter 1 13.4 
			 Quarter 2 14.2 
			 Quarter 3 14.1 
			 Quarter 4 12.2 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Quarter 1 11.1 
			 Quarter 2 11.6 
			 Quarter 3 11.9 
			 Quarter 4 12.7 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Quarter 1 14.5 
			 Quarter 2 14.1 
			 Quarter 3 12.9 
			 Quarter 4 13.9 
			   
			  2007-08  
			 Quarter 1 16.5 
			 Quarter 2 18.8 
			 Quarter 3 20.5 
			 Quarter 4 18.2 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 Quarter 1 21.0 
		
	
	Over the last few months increases in the number of births in the general population have led through to an increase in Maternity Allowance applications by a fifth. This increase coincided with centralisation into the four units and a temporary dip in productivity associated with retraining existing members of staff. This has led to a backlog of around 7000 claims.
	We are responding to these difficulties by increasing the staffing in the centralised sites by a fifth, so they can cope with the increase in new applications. The 7000 backlog cases are being dealt with separately by sharing the cases across our wider network of Benefit Delivery Centres. We are making progress now on clearing these cases. This action has seen immediate improvements in clearance numbers and we expect to have fully cleared the backlog by this autumn.

New Deal Schemes: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of West Lancashire constituency have found employment, work experience or training through the New Deal since its inception, broken down by New Deal programme.

James Purnell: Information regarding work experience and training is only available for new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus. The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of people who have found jobs by each new deal programme from their inception to February 2008 in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency 
			   Number 
			 New Deal for Young People 1,640 
			 New Deal 25 Plus 460 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 1,220 
			 New Deal for Disabled People 300 
			 New Deal 50 Plus(1) 160 
			 New Deal for Partners(1) 10 
			 (1) Figures for new deal 50 plus are not available prior to April 2003 and for new deal for partners figures are not available prior to April 2004.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Those people who have participated on subsidised employment option are included in the above figures for the relevant new deal programmes. 3. Figures for new deal for young people, new deal 25 plus, new deal for lone parents, new deal 50 plus and new deal for partners are available at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/tabtool_nd.asp  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of people who have participated in subsidised employment option or full time education option on the new deal for young people in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency to February 2008 
			   Number 
			 Subsidised Employment Option 70 
			 Full time Education Option 200 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures include those who have left the New Deal programme and current participants. 3. These figures are published at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/tabtool_nd.asp 4. Immediate destination on leaving is measured within two weeks of leaving new deal, using information from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS).  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of people who have participated in subsidised employment option or full time education option on the new deal for 25 plus in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency to February 2008 
			   Number 
			 Subsidised Employment Option 10 
			 Full time Education Option 340 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Immediate destination on leaving is measured within two weeks of leaving new deal, using information from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). 3. Employment includes those in employment and self employment. 4. Figures include those who have left the New Deal programme and current participants. 5. Figures do not include current participants on the follow-through stage of the programme. 6. These figures are published at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/tabtool_nd.asp  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Post Office

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the costs incurred by the Post Office, broken down by  (a) staff costs,  (b) distribution and conveyance,  (c) other operating costs and  (d) (i) voluntary and (ii) involuntary redundancy costs in each of the last five years.

Patrick McFadden: The Department regularly and closely monitors the financial performance of Post Office Ltd. through the financial year because it is both a publicly owned company and it receives very substantial public funding to support the post office network. As part of this the Department reviews the company's business case forecasts and the annual out-turn with regard to costs and to revenues.

PRIME MINISTER

Cabinet

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 30 June 2008,  Official Report, column 541W, whether he has any plans for the Cabinet to meet outside London in the next six months.

Gordon Brown: The Cabinet met in Birmingham on Monday 8 September 2008.

Chequers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 825W, whether the reference to civil servants includes Number 10 political staff.

Gordon Brown: The answer of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 825W, is also true of special advisers.

China

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what meetings he plans to have with Chinese government officials while in China attending the Olympic closing ceremony; and whether he will meet Hu Jintao and Wen Jibao;
	(2)  whether he discussed progress in talks between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government with the Chinese President at the G8 summit in Japan.

David Drew: To ask the Prime Minister what meetings he  (a) held and  (b) attended when in Beijing to attend the Olympic closing ceremony with the Chinese government; and whether he discussed (i) human rights and (ii) animal welfare with that government.

Gordon Brown: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave on 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 20W.
	In addition, I refer my hon. Friends to the press briefing I gave en route to Beijing on 21 August 2008. A transcript is available on the No. 10 website:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page16647
	and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Defence: Expenditure

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 244, how many countries have a higher defence budget than the UK in cash terms in 2008-09.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) during my statement on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 672-3.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister when he last visited  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity.

Ben Wallace: To ask the Prime Minister which parliamentary constituencies he has visited since 27 June 2007; on what dates each such visit took place; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Members to the written statement I made on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 103-04WS.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister whether his Office keeps a record of his  (a) train journeys and  (b) domestic flights made in the course of official business.

Gordon Brown: I travel making the most efficient and cost-effective arrangements. My travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the "Ministerial Code", and the accompanying guidance document, "Travel by Ministers".

Departmental Internet

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister how many new websites his Office has set up since 27 June 2007; and what the cost for new websites has been since that date.

James Duddridge: To ask the Prime Minister how much the recent redesign of the No. 10 website cost; and who carried out the redesign.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 15 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2026W.

Departmental Occupational Health

Eric Pickles: To ask the Prime Minister, further to page 52 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08, whether a reflection room has been provided for those working in Downing Street offices as part of the Cabinet Office well-being measures.

Gordon Brown: No.

Departmental Official Engagements

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister when he last met  (a) a school teacher,  (b) a nurse,  (c) a doctor,  (d) a social worker,  (e) a police officer and  (f) a prison officer in the course of his official business.

Gordon Brown: I frequently meet people from all these occupations in the course of my duties around the UK.

Departmental Overtime

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost of overtime payments paid to staff in his Office was in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson) on 1 September 2008,  Official Report, columns 1434-36W.

Departmental Procurement

David Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister what his Office's policy is on requesting discounts from its suppliers in return for swift payment of invoices.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Phil Hope) on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1258W.

Departmental Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has undertaken any personal development courses at public expense since June 2007.

Gordon Brown: No.

Israel: Nuclear Weapons

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister whether he discussed with his Israeli counterpart the status of Israel's nuclear weapons during his visit to Israel on 21 July.

Gordon Brown: I discussed a wide range of issues on my recent trip to Israel. I refer the hon. Member to the speech I made to the Israeli Knesset, a transcript is available on the No. 10 website at:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page16423
	A copy has also been placed in the Library of the House.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 20-1W, on Ministerial policy advisers, if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines on allowances and subsistence.

Gordon Brown: Guidelines on allowances and subsistence are a matter for the relevant Government Department.

Ministerial Policy Advisers: Conditions of Employment

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister whether the terms of employment for any of his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Gordon Brown: Special advisers, including those in my office, are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Ministers: Official Residences

Grant Shapps: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers 
	(1)  will have grace and favour accommodation allocated to them; what the locations of that accommodation will be in each case following the changes to the machinery of Government and the Cabinet reshuffle; which Ministers or former Ministers will leave their grace and favour accommodation; and which grace and favour properties will remain empty;
	(2)  whether the new Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will have an official ministerial residence funded by the public purse.

Gordon Brown: There have been no changes to the answer I gave the hon. Members for Lewes (Norman Baker) and Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 17 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1135W.

Olympic Games 2012

Don Foster: To ask the Prime Minister whether any full-time equivalent members of staff in his Office are working on policy relating to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics games.

Gordon Brown: My Office is fully engaged with work towards the Olympics led by the DCMS.

Political Office: Furniture

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister how many  (a) desks,  (b) computers and  (c) telephones are provided for the use of the Political Office.

Gordon Brown: The staffing and associated costs for my Political Office are met by the Labour party. As has been the case under successive Administrations, marginal costs associated with the Political Office are met from within the overall budget for 10 Downing street.

Schools

Philip Davies: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of any materials his Office has distributed to schools in the last three years.

Gordon Brown: My Office receives many letters from schools and children, all of which receive a reply. In addition, and when appropriate, my Office sends out a booklet about the history of Downing street to schools and children who write in. Copies of this booklet are available in the Library of the House.

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to answer question 192528, on visits to 10 Downing Street, tabled on 4 March 2008 by the hon. Member for Southend, West; what the reason is for the time taken to reply; what steps he has  (a) taken and  (b) plans to take to answer written parliamentary questions within a working week of them being tabled; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer published on 12 March 2008,  Official Report, column 449W.

JUSTICE

Departmental Buildings

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which organisations have received  (a) free and  (b) discounted room hire from (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case.

Michael Wills: The full information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS) provide free of charge room hire to organisations that directly support the work of the courts. These include the Crown Prosecution Service, Probation Service, Victim and Witness Service, Police, Shorthand Writers, Press and WRVS. HMCS also hire out to organisations that support the Court Service for training purposes and a system has recently been put in place to record the information requested. Therefore, income for this financial year is currently £3,190.
	NOMS/HMPS and the Tribunal Service have confirmed they do not hire out rooms.

Departmental Data Protection

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department have been disciplined in each of the last three years for misconduct involving misuse of personal data.

Jack Straw: Records in the former DCA show that three members of staff have been disciplined for inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last three years, all in 2006.
	Prison Service records show that members of staff have been disciplined and dismissed for inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last three years. In some of these cases, the inappropriate use of data has been part of a wide range of charges against the members of staff:
	April 2005-March 2006: Nil
	April 2006-March 2007: Six members of staff were subject to formal disciplinary action and, of these, three were subsequently dismissed from service.
	April 2007-March 2008: One member of staff was subject to formal disciplinary action and was subsequently dismissed from service.
	Centrally held records in NOMS and OCJR there have been no recorded cases of discipline or dismissal for breaches of data protection and inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data.

Departmental Surveillance

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (i) undertake directed surveillance, (ii) use covert human intelligence sources, (iii) acquire communications data and (iv) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's written ministerial statement on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 110-11WS. The Government's approach is to neither confirm nor deny the extent to which use is made of these powers. The Chief Surveillance Commissioner and Interception of Communications Commissioner does however provide statistics of all covert activity authorised under Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) in their annual reports, which were laid before both Houses of Parliament on 22 July 2008.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: ICT

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which probation areas within England and Wales use  (a) Delius,  (b) CRAMS and  (c) other IT case management systems.

David Hanson: As of 7 October 2008, the following probation areas within England and Wales use:
	 (a) Delius—Greater Manchester, London and West Mercia;
	 (b) CRAMS—Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, Dyfed-Powys, Essex, Gloucestershire, Gwent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Surrey, Sussex, Teesside, Warwickshire, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire;
	 (c) Other IT case management systems—Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Devon and Cornwall, Kent, Merseyside, Norfolk, Suffolk, Sussex (in addition to CRAMS), Thames Valley, and West Midlands.

Reparation by Offenders

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish his response to the Shapland report on restorative justice.

David Hanson: The evaluation of the Crime Reduction Programme Restorative Justice Pilots, undertaken by Joanna Shapland of the University of Sheffield, was commissioned to develop the evidence base of what works for adults in terms of restorative justice and to inform future policy developments. Although the most recently published research report showed that, overall, the evidence of the effectiveness of restorative justice in reducing adult re-offending is no stronger than for other interventions, earlier research showed that it delivers high levels of victim satisfaction. The Government are, therefore, considering what further encouragement they can provide to support the continued growth of adult and youth restorative justice, taking account of the complete findings from the evaluation of these pilots.

Young Offenders: Sentencing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of custodial sentences imposed on people aged 18 years or under was as proposed in the pre-sentence report prepared by the local youth offending team (YOT) in each YOT area in each month between March 2006 and March 2007.

David Hanson: The Government have developed a range of sentences that are designed to offer courts a robust alternative to custody. The decision on the most appropriate type of disposal given to a young person is ultimately for the court to make.
	The data requested, which are collected by the Youth Justice Board on a quarterly basis, are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			   Quarter 
			   April to June 2006  July to September 2006 
			  YOT  Occasions custody proposed in the pre-sentence report  Custodial sentence imposed  Percentage  Occasions custody proposed in the pre-sentence report  Custodial sentence imposed  Percentage 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 7 0 1 11 9 
			 Barnet 2 2 100 3 11 27 
			 Barnsley 0 6 0 0 5 0 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 0 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Bedfordshire 2 4 50 1 4 25 
			 Bexley 4 11 36 1 9 11 
			 Birmingham 16 47 34 11 37 30 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 0 5 0 1 1 100 
			 Blackpool 0 5 0 1 6 17 
			 Blaenau, Gwent and Caerphilly 3 6 50 3 7 43 
			 Bolton 6 13 46 5 8 63 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 0 2 0 1 7 14 
			 Bracknell Forest 0 0 n/a 3 3 100 
			 Bradford 5 12 42 1 10 10 
			 Brent 2 2 100 0 5 0 
			 Bridgend 0 1 0 1 5 20 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 1 0 3 5 60 
			 Bristol 1 5 20 1 8 13 
			 Bromley 2 2 100 0 0 n/a 
			 Buckinghamshire 0 2 0 3 6 50 
			 Bury 1 4 25 1 4 25 
			 Calderdale 0 1 0 1 2 50 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 6 0 0 4 0 
			 Camden 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Cardiff 1 9 11 1 13 8 
			 Carmarthenshire 2 4 50 5 7 71 
			 Ceredigion 0 0 n/a 0 1 0 
			 Cheshire 1 6 17 7 22 32 
			 Conwy and Denbighshire 2 2 100 6 8 75 
			 Cornwall 1 2 50 0 1 0 
			 Coventry 4 19 21 1 14 7 
			 Croydon 3 9 33 6 8 75 
			 Cumbria 0 3 0 0 4 0 
			 Darlington 0 2 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Derby 3 7 43 3 10 30 
			 Derbyshire 1 14 7 1 8 13 
			 Devon 0 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Doncaster 3 5 60 1 5 20 
			 Dorset 1 3 33 1 2 50 
			 Dudley 0 3 0 0 3 0 
			 Durham 4 2 200 2 5 40 
			 Ealing 0 6 0 2 2 100 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 0 0 n/a 1 3 33 
			 East Sussex 5 8 63 3 5 60 
			 Enfield 1 9 11 0 10 0 
			 Essex 0 8 0 1 8 13 
			 Flintshire 0 0 n/a 0 2 0 
			 Gateshead 3 5 60 1 4 25 
			 Gloucestershire 2 5 40 2 6 33 
			 Greenwich 0 2 0 2 0 n/a 
			 Gwynedd Mon 7 7 100 5 5 100 
			 Hackney 5 21 24 1 10 10 
			 Halton and Warrington 1 3 33 0 5 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 7 0 0 3 0 
			 Haringey 2 4 50 1 5 20 
			 Harrow 1 4 25 0 2 0 
			 Hartlepool 0 1 0 1 5 20 
			 Havering 0 4 0 1 3 33 
			 Hertfordshire 1 3 33 3 7 43 
			 Hillingdon 1 2 50 1 4 25 
			 Hounslow 0 6 0 1 4 25 
			 Islington 1 3 33 0 4 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 3 0 1 2 50 
			 Kent 3 12 25 7 17 41 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 0 7 0 0 10 0 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Kirklees 3 24 13 5 16 31 
			 Knowsley 1 5 20 0 2 0 
			 Lambeth 0 16 0 1 12 8 
			 Lancashire 9 29 31 12 19 63 
			 Leeds 2 23 9 1 13 8 
			 Leicester City 3 8 38 4 8 50 
			 Leicestershire 1 5 20 0 4 0 
			 Lewisham 1 4 25 1 3 33 
			 Lincolnshire 0 4 0 3 2 150 
			 Liverpool 1 22 5 2 21 10 
			 Luton 1 2 50 1 5 20 
			 Manchester 7 26 27 8 36 22 
			 Medway 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 0 2 0 0 3 0 
			 Merton 0 2 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Milton Keynes 2 5 40 1 2 50 
			 Monmouthshire and Torfaen 0 1 0 2 4 50 
			 Neath Port Talbot 0 2 0 2 5 40 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 3 4 75 1 4 25 
			 Newham 2 8 25 2 8 25 
			 Newport 1 11 9 4 9 44 
			 Norfolk 0 2 0 0 0 n/a 
			 North East Lincolnshire 9 10 90 7 8 88 
			 North Lincolnshire 2 8 25 0 2 0 
			 North Somerset 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 North Tyneside 0 2 0 1 6 17 
			 North Yorkshire 3 9 33 2 6 33 
			 Northamptonshire 3 18 17 2 11 18 
			 Northumberland 1 4 25 0 4 0 
			 Nottingham 4 13 31 27 33 82 
			 Nottinghamshire 7 14 50 3 11 27 
			 Oldham 5 7 71 3 7 43 
			 Oxfordshire 0 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Pembrokeshire 0 0 n/a 1 2 50 
			 Peterborough 2 4 50 0 6 0 
			 Plymouth 1 3 33 0 3 0 
			 Powys 0 0 n/a 2 2 100 
			 Reading and Wokingham 4 7 57 4 5 80 
			 Redbridge 0 5 0 1 3 33 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 0 3 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 0 1 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Rochdale 1 8 13 0 7 0 
			 Rotherham 0 2 0 0 6 0 
			 Salford 2 10 20 2 8 25 
			 Sandwell 3 5 60 4 9 44 
			 Sefton 1 6 17 2 8 25 
			 Sheffield 7 9 78 2 14 14 
			 Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin 0 2 0 1 6 17 
			 Slough 0 1 0 2 2 100 
			 Solihull 0 0 n/a 0 7 0 
			 Somerset 0 0 n/a 0 2 0 
			 South Gloucestershire 0 1 0 0 0 n/a 
			 South Tees 1 4 25 1 7 14 
			 South Tyneside 2 5 40 3 3 100 
			 Southend-on-Sea 0 4 0 3 6 50 
			 Southwark 1 5 20 0 14 0 
			 St. Helens 2 3 67 1 1 100 
			 Staffordshire 0 8 0 2 10 20 
			 Stockport 1 1 100 2 4 50 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 0 2 0 1 2 50 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 4 10 40 4 14 29 
			 Suffolk 4 10 40 4 8 50 
			 Sunderland 3 5 60 8 9 89 
			 Surrey 4 12 33 0 0 n/a 
			 Sutton 0 4 0 0 2 0 
			 Swansea 9 9 100 5 5 100 
			 Swindon 0 1 0 1 3 33 
			 Tameside 2 9 22 3 8 38 
			 Thurrock 3 4 75 8 9 89 
			 Torbay 0 0 n/a 1 0 n/a 
			 Tower Hamlets and City of London 0 2 0 0 9 0 
			 Trafford 3 8 38 8 8 100 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 1 1 100 0 0 n/a 
			 Wakefield 0 4 0 0 6 0 
			 Walsall 0 7 0 0 4 0 
			 Waltham Forest 3 6 50 7 9 78 
			 Wandsworth 2 10 20 2 13 15 
			 Warwickshire 2 9 22 4 5 80 
			 Wessex 4 42 10 5 31 16 
			 West Berkshire 0 0 n/a 0 1 0 
			 West Sussex 1 5 20 2 6 33 
			 Westminster 3 7 43 0 1 0 
			 Wigan 0 7 0 0 5 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 n/a 0 1 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Wirral 1 6 17 1 7 14 
			 Wolverhampton 0 4 0 0 3 0 
			 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 2 5 40 1 11 9 
			 Wrexham 1 3 33 2 4 50 
			 York 1 2 50 0 2 0 
			 Total 255 953 27 305 987 31 
		
	
	
		
			   Quarter 
			   October  to  December  2006  January  to  March  200 7 
			  YOT  Occasions custody proposed in the pre-sentence report  Custodial sentence imposed  Percentage  Occasions custody proposed in the pre-sentence report  Custodial sentence imposed  Percentage 
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 8 0 1 3 33 
			 Barnet 1 2 50 1 1 100 
			 Barnsley 2 6 33 0 8 0 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 0 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Bedfordshire 1 4 25 0 5 0 
			 Bexley 1 5 20 0 3 0 
			 Birmingham 9 38 24 5 21 24 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 0 4 0 2 4 50 
			 Blackpool 1 12 8 3 5 60 
			 Blaenau, Gwent and Caerphilly 1 5 20 1 4 25 
			 Bolton 1 9 11 3 7 43 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 0 1 0 2 2 100 
			 Bracknell Forest 0 1 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Bradford 4 8 50 7 15 47 
			 Brent 0 1 0 0 2 0 
			 Bridgend 2 5 40 0 1 0 
			 Brighton and Hove 1 2 50 1 5 20 
			 Bristol 0 6 0 0 7 0 
			 Bromley 0 1 0 0 3 0 
			 Buckinghamshire 3 4 75 1 2 50 
			 Bury 2 7 29 1 3 33 
			 Calderdale 2 4 50 0 5 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 3 0 1 3 33 
			 Camden 0 8 0 0 6 0 
			 Cardiff 2 11 18 0 13 0 
			 Carmarthenshire 0 0 n/a 3 4 75 
			 Ceredigion 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Cheshire 5 13 38 4 9 44 
			 Conwy and Denbighshire 1 2 50 0 2 0 
			 Cornwall 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Coventry 1 7 14 2 14 14 
			 Croydon 2 3 67 0 3 0 
			 Cumbria 2 4 50 1 16 6 
			 Darlington 1 1 100 1 1 100 
			 Derby 5 7 71 3 7 43 
			 Derbyshire 1 15 7 1 12 8 
			 Devon 0 4 0 0 4 0 
			 Doncaster 0 6 0 3 10 30 
			 Dorset 0 2 0 1 2 50 
			 Dudley 0 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Durham 0 0 n/a 3 6 50 
			 Ealing 1 4 25 0 2 0 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 2 4 50 0 1 0 
			 East Sussex 1 2 50 1 5 20 
			 Enfield 1 7 14 6 9 67 
			 Essex 1 6 17 3 7 43 
			 Flintshire 2 1 200 2 7 29 
			 Gateshead 2 3 67 1 1 100 
			 Gloucestershire 3 7 43 2 7 29 
			 Greenwich 1 3 33 1 5 20 
			 Gwynedd Mon 0 2 0 3 3 100 
			 Hackney 6 9 67 0 11 0 
			 Halton and Warrington 0 7 0 2 4 50 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1 3 33 0 5 0 
			 Haringey 2 5 40 3 9 33 
			 Harrow 0 2 0 2 3 67 
			 Hartlepool 1 1 100 2 3 67 
			 Havering 0 7 0 0 3 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 4 0 4 7 57 
			 Hillingdon 0 5 0 0 5 0 
			 Hounslow 3 5 60 0 1 0 
			 Islington 0 7 0 0 4 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1 5 20 1 2 50 
			 Kent 8 23 35 8 15 53 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 0 10 0 1 10 10 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 4 4 100 1 0 n/a 
			 Kirklees 3 15 20 6 13 46 
			 Knowsley 2 3 67 0 2 0 
			 Lambeth 3 14 21 3 14 21 
			 Lancashire 13 27 48 9 15 60 
			 Leeds 0 8 0 1 8 13 
			 Leicester City 1 3 33 0 3 0 
			 Leicestershire 1 5 20 5 10 50 
			 Lewisham 0 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Lincolnshire 2 3 67 3 3 100 
			 Liverpool 0 19 0 0 16 0 
			 Luton 2 2 100 1 2 50 
			 Manchester 16 51 31 10 38 26 
			 Medway 1 1 100 0 5 0 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 0 3 0 0 2 0 
			 Merton 3 6 50 0 4 0 
			 Milton Keynes 0 1 0 2 6 33 
			 Monmouthshire and Torfaen 1 2 50 0 0 n/a 
			 Neath Port Talbot 1 3 33 0 1 0 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2 6 33 5 8 63 
			 Newham 2 3 67 1 12 8 
			 Newport 3 8 38 0 4 0 
			 Norfolk 1 2 50 2 4 50 
			 North East Lincolnshire 8 13 62 3 7 43 
			 North Lincolnshire 3 2 150 4 12 33 
			 North Somerset 1 2 50 1 3 33 
			 North Tyneside 1 4 25 0 2 0 
			 North Yorkshire 3 7 43 2 11 18 
			 Northamptonshire 1 9 11 1 18 6 
			 Northumberland 1 3 33 4 6 67 
			 Nottingham 16 22 73 12 21 57 
			 Nottinghamshire 3 6 50 9 14 64 
			 Oldham 1 5 20 1 5 20 
			 Oxfordshire 0 2 0 0 5 0 
			 Pembrokeshire 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Peterborough 2 3 67 5 15 33 
			 Plymouth 0 2 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Powys 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Reading and Wokingham 3 4 75 0 4 0 
			 Redbridge 0 6 0 4 8 50 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 0 8 0 0 5 0 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 0 1 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Rochdale 2 9 22 0 5 0 
			 Rotherham 0 8 0 0 5 0 
			 Salford 2 12 17 1 8 13 
			 Sandwell 4 7 57 4 8 50 
			 Sefton 3 9 33 2 7 29 
			 Sheffield 2 11 18 1 9 11 
			 Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin 0 5 0 0 1 0 
			 Slough 1 4 25 0 5 0 
			 Solihull 0 1 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Somerset 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 South Gloucestershire 0 2 0 1 2 50 
			 South Tees 0 3 0 0 0 n/a 
			 South Tyneside 0 6 0 4 4 100 
			 Southend-on-Sea 0 1 0 1 2 50 
			 Southwark 1 10 10 3 9 33 
			 St. Helens 0 4 0 0 4 0 
			 Staffordshire 1 2 50 0 7 0 
			 Stockport 5 8 63 5 6 83 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 0 2 0 2 4 50 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 2 6 33 4 8 50 
			 Suffolk 0 5 0 3 11 27 
			 Sunderland 0 2 0 0 0 n/a 
			 Surrey 0 4 0 4 6 67 
			 Sutton 1 2 50 0 0 n/a 
			 Swansea 3 4 75 3 4 75 
			 Swindon 0 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Tameside 1 5 20 4 4 100 
			 Thurrock 2 2 100 4 6 67 
			 Torbay 3 3 100 1 2 50 
			 Tower Hamlets and City of London 1 12 8 0 4 0 
			 Trafford 2 3 67 3 5 60 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 1 2 50 2 2 100 
			 Wakefield 0 6 0 0 9 0 
			 Walsall 0 1 0 0 7 0 
			 Waltham Forest 5 6 83 5 5 100 
			 Wandsworth 6 9 67 0 6 0 
			 Warwickshire 2 7 29 0 5 0 
			 Wessex 6 33 18 6 24 25 
			 West Berkshire 0 0 n/a 0 3 0 
			 West Sussex 1 4 25 1 4 25 
			 Westminster 1 2 50 0 1 0 
			 Wigan 0 6 0 0 6 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Wirral 0 12 0 0 9 0 
			 Wolverhampton 3 3 100 3 9 33 
			 Worcestershire and Herefordshire 2 6 33 1 8 13 
			 Wrexham 4 6 67 3 2 150 
			 York 0 0 n/a 0 0 n/a 
			 Total 258 905 29 259 895 29

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma: Ethnic Groups

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Royal Thai Government on the recent deportations of Karen refugees from camps in Thailand back to Burma.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 10 September 2008
	We are aware of recent reports of forced returns of Karen refugees from Thailand. Our embassy in Bangkok frequently raises refugee welfare issues with the Royal Thai government. Recent discussions have covered the need for measures to mitigate the impact of the increase in the price of rice, refugees' access to jobs and education and the impact of Cyclone Nargis on the camps.
	The Government have increased support for Burmese refugees in Thailand. It has recently allocated a further £1 million to the Thailand Burma Border Consortium for its work supporting Burmese refugees in Thailand and internally displaced persons inside Burma. In 2007-08, the Department for International Development provided £400,000 for assistance to internally displaced persons through community-based organisations inside Burma. This reached more than 100,000 displaced persons, mostly in Karen communities, living near Burma's border with Thailand.
	The UK condemns the continuing human rights abuses and the political, social and economic restrictions from which the ethnic groups of Burma—including the Karen group—have suffered under the current regime. Acceptable agreement for the ethnic nationalities is key to a durable solution to Burma's problems. We continue to bring reports of human rights abuses to the attention of the international community, the UN and the UN Human Rights Council.

China: Pandas

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the Chinese Government on the proposal to loan two giant pandas from China to Edinburgh Zoo; what the Government's policy is on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 17 September 2008
	We are aware that The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) is in discussion with its counterparts in China about conservation collaboration, of which the proposed loan of pandas is only one element. At the request of the Scottish Executive, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised this with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi when he visited China in February. The Government regard this primarily as an arrangement between the RZSS and the Chinese authorities, but are supportive of the underlying objective of promoting collaboration in the area of animal conservation.

China: Taiwan

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of developments in relations between Taiwan and mainland China on the stability of the region.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 6 October 2008
	As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said on 22 March, the change of administration in Taiwan is a real opportunity to renew efforts to improve cross-Strait relations. We hope that the Chinese government and Taiwanese administration will continue to engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and strengthen cross-Strait stability, with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the Taiwan question acceptable to the people of both sides of the Strait.
	We welcome the efforts undertaken by both sides to improve China-Taiwan relations. We support the EU declaration of 19 September which similarly sought to encourage dialogue and commended the willingness of both sides to continue and widen discussions in the coming months, contributing to reinforced stability and security in East Asia.

Georgia: South Ossetia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether  (a) the Government and  (b) the presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU was informed by (i) the US administration and (ii) the Georgian government of Georgia's plans to take military action in South Ossetia before the action took place.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 10 September 2008
	Neither the Government nor, do we believe, the EU presidency were given advance warning of Georgian plans to take military actions in South Ossetia.
	Indeed, prior to the outbreak of hostilities on 7 August—and while tensions were rising—UK and other EU partners and allies actively sought to encourage all parties to exercise restraint, avoid actions likely to increase tensions and work towards a sustainable resolution of the conflict.

Israel: EU External Relations

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that information shared between the EU and Israel under the Co-operation in Justice and Home Affairs Initiative of the EU-Israel Association Council has not been obtained in circumstances which would be defined as torture in UK law.

Bill Rammell: The UK abides by its commitments under international law, including the UN Convention Against Torture, and expects all other countries to comply with their international obligations.
	We have made it clear that all intelligence received from foreign sources, in whatever forum, is carefully evaluated, particularly where it is clear it has been obtained from individuals in detention.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Buildings

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what the location is of each office occupied by her Office which has been (i) newly occupied and (ii) refurbished in the last 24 months; and what the floor area in square metres is of each.

Tessa Jowell: The following locations have been occupied by the office of the Minister for the Olympics: 70 Whitehall; 26 Whitehall; and 2-4 Cockspur Street. 26 Whitehall and 2-4 Cockspur Street have been refurbished in the last 24 months. The floor area of each location for the Minister for the Olympics Office and Private Office is: 70 Whitehall, 78.21 sq m; 26 Whitehall, 105.48 sq m; and 2-4 Cockspur Street, 93 sq m.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

John Baron: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what the five most serious disciplinary breaches in her Office were in the last 12 months; and what steps were taken in response to each breach.

Tessa Jowell: There have been no disciplinary breaches in my Office during the last 12 months.

Departmental Procurement

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will place in the Library the names and addresses of each organisation that supplied goods and services to her Office in 2007-08, based on the purchase order data held in the financial database of her Office's parent department.

Tessa Jowell: This information is not recorded in the format requested and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much her Office has spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework since its establishment.

Tessa Jowell: My Office has not incurred any expenditure with any of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework since its establishment.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many staff from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies have been seconded to her Office since its establishment.

Tessa Jowell: There have been no secondments of staff to my Office from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies since its establishment.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many staff from her Office have been seconded to public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies since its establishment.

Tessa Jowell: No members of my staff have been seconded to public relations, public affairs or consultancies since its establishment.

Dorneywood

James Duddridge: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use her Office has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months.

Tessa Jowell: My Office has made no use of Dorneywood for official engagements during the last 12 months.

Olympic Games 2012: Schools

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will place in the Library a copy of materials her Department has distributed to schools in the last three years.

Tessa Jowell: My Department has not distributed any materials to schools over the last three years.

Olympic Games 2012: Technology

Peter Luff: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on what date in 2012 the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games's technology freeze will come into force; which technologies the freeze will be applied to; and which body is responsible for implementing the freeze.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is responsible for planning and implementing the core technology and information systems that will be needed to host the Games in 2012. LOCOG's current expectation is to implement a lock-down on core Games technology by the end of 2010 to allow for rigorous testing and integration across all mission critical designs, equipment and operational processes.

Taxis

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much her Office spent on taxis in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Tessa Jowell: The Minister for the Olympics' office spent £620.26 on taxis for the last financial year.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Legislation

John Baron: To ask the Leader of the House how many pages of  (a) primary and  (b) delegated legislation were passed by the House in each Session commencing in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990 and (iii) each year between 1996 and 2006.

Chris Bryant: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Pages of primary legislation  Pages of delegated legislation 
			 1980 2,110 5,440 
			 1990 2,390 6,550 
			 1996 3,150 10,230 
			 1997 2,060 8,660 
			 1998 2,490 7,480 
			 1999 2,096 10,760 
			 2000 3,865 8,770 
			 2001 1,605 10,830 
			 2002 2,868 9,070 
			 2003 4,073 8,942 
			 2004 3,470 10,236 
			 2005 2,712 11,868 
			 2006 4,609 12,083 
			  Note: The figures for statutory instruments relate to the number of pages in the Stationery Office bound set—this excludes some local and unpublished instruments and, more recently, those of the National Assembly for Wales. The figures do not include Northern Ireland (Stormont) Acts or Statutory Rules. Pre-1987 figures are adjusted to current page sizes. 
		
	
	For more detailed information please see the House of Commons Library note: "Acts and Statutory Instruments: Volume of UK legislation 1950 to 2007" at:
	www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/notes/snsg-02911.pdf

WALES

Departmental NDPBs

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press and communications officers are employed by  (a) his Department,  (b) its NDPBs and  (c) its agencies.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office has a complement of three press and communications officers. The Wales Office has no NDPBs or agencies.

HEALTH

Cancer: Drugs

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects it to be the default position for all new cancer drugs and significant new licensed indications to be referred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Dawn Primarolo: The Cancer Reform Strategy (CRS), published on 3 December 2007 and already placed in the Library, included a commitment that all new cancer drugs and significant new licensed indications will be referred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), where there is a sufficient patient population and evidence base on which to carry out an appraisal. The CRS also makes a commitment that cancer drugs will be considered through NICE'S Single Technology Appraisal (STA) process where appropriate. I have agreed revisions to the topic selection process to implement the Cancer Reform Strategy commitments and NICE'S 19th work programme will be the first to be referred to NICE under the revised arrangements.

Diabetes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent steps the Government has taken to prevent diabetes;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government has taken to improve treatments for diabetes patients in the NHS.

Ann Keen: This Government continue to support the implementation of the Diabetes national service framework (NSF) and work with key partners to support the NHS in driving forward improvements in diabetes care. The Department, in partnership with Diabetes UK and the National Diabetes Support Team, has published reports, documents and toolkits in a number of areas that are intended to provide quality information and standards for commissioners and health care providers to help them plan and deliver services envisaged in the NSF.
	"Putting Prevention First", published on 1 April 2008 and already placed into the Library, outlined plans for a national programme of vascular checks, which PCTs will begin to roll out in 2009-10. Full roll out is anticipated in 2012-13 when we hope the checks will be available to all people between the ages of 40 and 74, on a five year rolling basis. The checks aim to help people be healthier for longer by assessing and managing their risk of developing vascular conditions, such as chronic heart disease and diabetes. The checks will ensure that people are given information about their health, supported to make lifestyle changes and, in some cases, offered earlier interventions.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what planning his Department has undertaken in respect of the manning of the Future Aircraft Carriers; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 6 October 2008
	 A specific manning team was established during the early stages of the Future Aircraft Carriers Project charged with producing a detailed manpower plan. This plan has evolved as the design of the carriers has matured and will continue to evolve. It is intended to produce an endorsed manpower plan by the end of 2009. However, further refinement will continue until the ships enter service. Our current planning assumption is that the Future Carriers will be manned with a core compliment of 680. This figure excludes flight crew for embarked aircraft.

Aircraft Carriers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Royal Navy personnel man existing aircraft carriers; and how many will be required to man each of the Future Aircraft Carriers;
	(2)  what effect he anticipates on the manning of other units of the Fleet when  (a) the first and  (b) both of the Future Aircraft Carriers receive their full crews.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 6 October 2008
	 The two existing operational carriers are each manned with a core complement of 698. Our current planning assumption is that the Future Carriers will each be manned with a core complement of 680. Both these figures exclude flight crew for the embarked aircraft.

Armed Forces: Food

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of  (a) lamb,  (b) beef,  (c) pork and  (d) chicken supplied to the armed forces came from livestock reared in the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: Under the MOD single food supply contract, 100 per cent. of pork and gammon, and 55 per cent. of beef is sourced from the UK. Of the poultry requirement, up to 15 per cent. is sourced from the UK, although 100 per cent. of turkeys are British, and an initiative has been launched to increase the number of British chickens procured. Recently the amount of British lamb procured has increased from 9 per cent. to 19 per cent., and the MOD continues to look for opportunities to increase this further while still achieving best value for money. Figures for food procured under the Pay as You Dine project, which now accounts for more than 50 per cent. of troops fed, are not held centrally, although these contractors are also required, wherever competitive, to give full consideration to procuring British products.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what percentage of the armed forces'  (a) Mastiff,  (b) Jackal,  (c) Panther and  (d) Snatch Land Rover vehicles were (i) in service, (ii) fit for purpose and (iii) out of service at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of the armed forces'  (a) Vectors,  (b) Viking and  (c) Bulldog vehicles were (i) in service, (ii) fit for purpose and (iii) out of service at the latest date for which figures are available.

Quentin Davies: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Vehicle  In Service ( percentage  of fleet number)  Fit for Purpose ( percentage  of in service number)  Out of service (percentage  of fleet n umber ) 
			 Mastiff 100 93 — 
			 Jackal 100 81 — 
			 Panther 100 99 — 
			 Snatch Land Rover 72 90 28 
			 Vectors 100 93 — 
			 Viking 100 79 — 
			 Bulldog 100 100 — 
		
	
	The Snatch figures highlight the fact that two of the early variants are now obsolete and cannot be used. They are currently awaiting disposal.
	The percentage of Viking Fit for Purpose reflects 18 vehicles which are part of the Total Fleet but which are awaiting replacement. They are therefore In Service but not Fit for Purpose.

Army: Buildings

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the proposed new Army Headquarters land at Andover will be in new, purpose-built accommodation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when the Army will vacate Erskine Barracks at Wilton.

Bob Ainsworth: The new Land Forces Headquarters at Andover will use existing buildings which will be refurbished as necessary to provide updated accommodation for all staff.
	The Army will vacate Erskine Barracks at Wilton progressively between mid-2010 and 2012.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many notifications  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies made to the Information Commissioner following the loss or mishandling of personal information or data in each of the last three years; and what was notified in each case.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence including its agencies has published details of the personal data related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its Annual Report and Accounts published on 21 July 2008. Two such incidents were notified.
	During 2005-06 the Department formally reported one incident of accidental disclosure of protected personal data to the Information Commissioner's Office.
	As a result of a limited failure by an automatic mailing machine, three members of the Army Regular or Long Term Reserve received copies of letters containing personal details of other reservists': name and address; next of kin name and address; marital status and date of marriage; the name and nationality of spouse; and bank account number, account title and sort code.
	Letters of apology were sent to the reservists whose personal data were disclosed without consent.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in Government.

Helicopters: Sales

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Royal Navy,  (b) Royal Air Force and  (c) army helicopters have been sold by his Department to foreign governments since April 2002.

Quentin Davies: Since April 2002 the Disposal Services Authority has sold three Sea King helicopters to Australia in the financial year 2005-06. They were not in an airworthy condition and were sold for spares recovery through Agusta Westland under a Commercial Marketing Agreement.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Empty Property

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 1 July 2008,  Official Report, column 791W, on housing: empty property, what proportion of the dwellings in each Government Office region were empty public sector dwellings in both years.

Iain Wright: The term public sector has been interpreted to mean "social rented" dwellings, i.e. local authority and registered social landlord owned dwellings.
	The following tables show the level of social rented vacancies against the level of total vacancies in both 2006 and 2007. These tables show all vacancies, both long and short term.
	
		
			  Dwelling vacancies in 2006 (long and short term vacancies) 
			   Total empty domestic dwellings as at 9 October 2006( 1)  Local authority vacancies as at 1 April 2006( 2)  Registered social landlord vacancies as at 31 March 2006( 3)  Total social vacancies  Percentage of total vacancies that are social rent 
			 NE 48,287 4,340 3,236 7,576 16 
			 NW 136,783 6,295 7,947 14,242 10 
			 YH 90,947 6,142 2,882 9,024 10 
			 EM 65,495 4,294 1,244 5,538 8 
			 WM 79,208 3,923 4,550 8,473 11 
			 E 68,485 3,105 1,868 4,973 7 
			 L 86,701 10,107 4,405 14,512 17 
			 SE 102,812 2,780 2,471 5,251 5 
			 SW 69,441 1,887 1,567 3,454 5 
			 England 748,159 42,873 30,170 73,043 10 
		
	
	
		
			  Dwelling vacancies in 2007 (long and short term vacancies) 
			   Total empty domestic dwellings as at 8 October 2007( 1)  Local authority vacancies as at 1 April 2007( 2)  Registered social landlord vacancies as at 31 March 2007( 3)  Total social vacancies  Percentage of total vacancies that are social rent 
			 NE 48,066 4,311 3,126 7,437 15 
			 NW 141,060 6,441 7,822 14,263 10 
			 YH 101,035 5,777 3,673 9,450 9 
			 EM 69,805 3,962 987 4,949 7 
			 WM 80,359 3,208 4,532 7,740 10 
			 E 69,072 2,496 1,766 4,262 6 
			 L 84,596 9,846 4,651 14,497 17 
			 SE 101,761 3,075 2,602 5,677 6 
			 SW 66,881 1,847 1,614 3,461 5 
			 England 762,635 40,963 30,773 71,736 9 
			 (1) Council Taxbase and Council Taxbase Supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) returns from local authorities. Figures are reported as at October in each year. (2) Local authority vacancies reported by local authorities to Communities and Local Government through the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA). Figures are reported as at 1 April in each year. (3) Registered social landlord vacancies as reported by registered social landlords to the Housing Corporation through the Regulatory Statistical Return. Figures are reported as at 31 March in each year.

Eco-towns

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the full background dataset of the YouGov survey of attitudes to eco-towns as referred to in her Department's press release of 30 June 2008.

Iain Wright: With regard to the recent YouGov survey on eco-towns, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1355W, to the hon. Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier). A copy of the background dataset will be placed in the Library.

Fire Services

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters there were per 100,000 residents in  (a) England,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) Chesterfield in each year since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: Information on the number of firefighters per 100,000 population in Derbyshire and England is set out in the following table. Information for Chesterfield is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Firefighters per 100,000 population 
			   Derbyshire  England 
			 1997-98 90 92 
			 1998-99 87 92 
			 1999-2000 90 91 
			 2000-01 87 91 
			 2001-02 88 90 
			 2002-03 83 90 
			 2003-04 85 90 
			 2004-05 85 89 
			 2005-06 82 89 
			 2006-07 81 89 
			  Source: Annual returns to Communities and Local Government

Fire Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many retained firefighters entered full-time service in each of the last three years, broken down by brigade.

Sadiq Khan: The information requested is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Floods: Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been paid from receipts from the EU Solidarity Fund in respect of flood damage in Nottinghamshire in 2007, broken down by category of expenditure.

John Healey: Because of the UK's success in bidding for the European Union Solidarity Fund the Government were able to set up a Restoration Fund of almost £31 million for English local authorities affected by last summer's flood to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities. Nottinghamshire has in total received £786,621 from the Restoration Fund. Bassetlaw district council received £40,438, Newark and Sherwood district council received £20,659 and Nottingham county council received £725,524.
	Restoration Fund allocations were unringfenced; this allowed local authorities the discretion to make spending decisions based on their own local knowledge and priorities. Due to the unringfenced nature of the allocations local authorities are not required to inform Government as to how this money was spent.

Housing: Insulation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of homes which have solid walls in  (a) Castle Point,  (b) Essex and  (c) England.

Iain Wright: The Department's English House Condition Survey collects information on the number of homes which have solid walls. This is a sample survey designed to provide national and regional level estimates only. The most recent available results from the survey are for 2005 and this estimated that there were 6.7 million homes with solid walls in England, of which 764,000 were in the South East region.
	These figures for 'solid walls' include all homes without cavity walls. In the main these are solid masonry walls but will also include some homes (totalling less than 4 per cent. of the whole housing stock) of prefabricated concrete or steel/timber frame construction. The numbers of homes in these latter categories are too small to estimate reliably through the sample survey.
	The Department does not collect this information at a local level and is therefore not able to provide the number of homes which have solid walls in Castle Point or for Essex.

Housing: Solar Energy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new houses built or to be built in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009 have solar panels.

Iain Wright: Information on the number of new build dwellings with solar panels is not held centrally.

Local Authorities: Public Participation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps the Government has taken to give the general public greater access to information on how their local authority is being run.

John Healey: Information about the national indicators and other local area data are currently publicly available on the Floor Targets Interactive website
	http://www.fti.communities.gov.uk/fti/.
	This enables citizens to compare performance between local authority areas and measure progress over time.
	We are also working with local government to develop more effective provision by councils of timely performance and service information to their citizens. As part of this work we will be supporting, from late 2008, a range of pilot projects in local authorities to evaluate innovative techniques to empower citizens through information provision.
	In addition to this, the Audit Commission and public service inspectorates are currently consulting and trialling their proposed methodology for the new comprehensive area assessment (CAA), which will replace the current comprehensive performance assessment from April 2009.
	The CAA will assess and publicly report performance against all local area agreement targets, other local priorities and all 196 indicators in the national indicator set, taking into account the experiences of local people and their satisfaction with local services. The reports, which are being designed to give the public access to information on the effectiveness of local delivery, are due to be published for the first time in November 2009.
	Lastly, we are reviewing actions to give local people clearer information on councils' performance on efficiency. Under proposals out to consultation, we would require councils to include standard, simple measures of efficiency performance alongside council tax demand notices.

Local Authorities: Public Participation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage local authorities to be more open to public scrutiny.

John Healey: The recent Local Government White Paper—'Communities in Control'—sets out the Governments plans to enable greater public scrutiny of local authorities. We are currently consulting on improving local accountability arrangements including strengthened powers for overview and scrutiny committees, regular public meetings for key local decision makers and petitioning schemes. This consultation closes on 30 October and we will carefully consider all the responses we receive before deciding how to implement our plans for greater scrutiny of councils.

Local Government: Surveillance

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued to local authorities by  (a) her Department and its predecessors and  (b) the Audit Commission on the use of surveillance powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 since the Act came into force.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	No guidance has been issued specifically to local authorities by either Home Office or Audit Commission. The statutory codes of practice and regulations made under the Act provide guidance for public authorities.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Students: Finance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to improve access to bursaries and other assistance for students from low income backgrounds to enable them to complete undergraduate degree studies.

David Lammy: Universities are required to pay a minimum bursary to all students receiving the maximum maintenance grant. Most institutions are offering more than the minimum. The typical bursary in 2008-09 is around £1,000 per year.
	The great majority of those entitled to bursaries are either applying to their university for funding, or are the subject of an automatic notification of eligibility from the Student Loans Company to their university because they had given consent to the sharing of financial data.
	To further improve take-up, Department officials have worked closely with the Student Loans Company and other stakeholders to improve the bursary consent arrangements on the 2008-09 student finance application form.
	The introduction of an 'opt out' clause, giving both the student and their sponsor an opportunity to opt out of consenting to their personal information being shared with universities for bursary purposes, is expected to increase the numbers of students assessed for and receiving bursaries. Clear guidance states that a decision to opt out of sharing data with universities does not affect entitlement to other forms of support.
	Promotional materials have been issued to raise awareness of the availability of bursaries and encourage students to seek further information from institutions. The Government-sponsored directgov website also provides students with a bursary map, permitting them to carry out an online search of institutional bursaries.
	In addition, students in financial difficulty during their course can apply for additional help through the Government-funded Access to Learning Fund (ALF). ALF is a discretionary fund administered directly by individual higher education institutions which are best placed to assess their students' circumstances.
	The latest figures show that acceptances to universities for England are at an all-time high, with the proportion of applicants from lower socio-economic groups also up. The current package of student support means that anyone who can benefit from higher education has the opportunity to do so. This Government have brought back non-repayable grants and greatly expanded the numbers who get them. This autumn, around two-thirds of full-time eligible students will qualify for non-repayable grants of up to £2,835 a year. Full-time students can also apply for loans to meet their tuition fees and to help with living costs.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that  (a) very light jets and  (b) private helicopters do not present a danger to civil aviation;
	(2)  what measures are in place to  (a) regulate and  (b) identify the operators of (i) very light jets and (ii) privately-owned operated helicopters.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Appropriate measures exist to ensure the safety of very light jets (VLJs) and private helicopters.
	Since 28 September 2003, the regulation and airworthiness approval of the type design of the majority of aircraft on the UK register has been the responsibility of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This includes the approval of both VLJs and helicopters.
	The specific airworthiness requirements regulating the structure, engines, systems and equipment, and performance for very light jet aeroplanes are being drawn from a combination of the EASA airworthiness certification specification codes CS-23 ("Normal, utility, aerobatic and commuter category aeroplanes") and CS-25 ("Large aeroplanes"), as appropriate to the design under consideration. The regulatory and industrial processes of taking design concepts through to final production is well established and it is not envisaged that there will be any difference on how VLJs would be expected to comply with the appropriate requirements. Where the use of new technologies is involved, the existing requirements are supplemented by additional conditions to define the regulatory basis for their acceptance.
	Helicopter design and airworthiness requirements are contained in the EASA certification specifications codes CS-27 ("Small rotorcraft") and CS-29 ("Large rotorcraft"). In recent years, there have been a considerable number of new helicopter designs introduced to the market place, many employing of new technologies and product improvements over their predecessors.
	The operational requirements in place to regulate privately owned and operated helicopters and VLJs being flown for purposes other than commercial air transport are those of the United Kingdom Air Navigation Order 2005 and its regulations. The operational requirements for VLJ being flown for commercial air transport are those of Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No. 3922/9, commonly known as EU-OPS.
	Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008 requires the European Aviation Safety Agency to develop implementing rules, which will, by not later than 8 April 2012, apply to all aircraft whether operated commercially or non-commercially. These implementing rules will replace existing operational requirements. In addition, operators engaged in the non-commercial operation of VLJs and helicopters with a maximum take-off mass exceeding 3,175 kg or with a maximum seating configuration of more than nine, will have to declare to the Civil Aviation Authority their capability and means of discharging the responsibilities associated with the operation of their aircraft. The detailed draft implementing rules have not yet been published for consultation but it can be expected that they will enable member states to clearly identify the operators of such aircraft.
	The Air Navigation Order 2005 requires that the name and address of the registered owner or charterer by demise of any aircraft, including VLJs and privately owned helicopters, shall be included on the details held in the UK Register of Civil Aircraft. The CAA Regulations stipulate that the UK Register of Civil Aircraft is available for inspection by any person and the CAA makes the register available via the CAA website at
	www.caa.co.uk/ginfo.
	If a VLJ is to be operated commercially it will be identifiable from the Air Operator's Certificate, otherwise there are no specific operational measures in place to identify the operators of VLJs or privately owned helicopters.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.

Geoff Hoon: The total expenditure figures for external public relations support for the Department for Transport and Executive Agencies, not all of which is commissioned through COI's PR framework, are set out in the following table. The figures, which are rounded, cover the last three fiscal years and include the cost of public relations agency fees and the cost of public relations promotions in various media. Monthly expenditure figures could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	The prime use of external public relations is in support of our marketing activities on the THINK! road safety, Act on C02, European Whole Vehicle Type Approval, and Concessionary Bus Fares campaigns, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's continuous registration campaign.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Department for Transport  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 DfT Central 255 362 625 
			 Driving Standards Agency 0 0 0 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 872 371 500 
			 Highways Agency 0 0 0 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 0 26 27 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 73 79 53 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 0 0 0 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 0 0 0 
		
	
	The Department and Executive Agencies do not appoint any marketing agencies under the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework. We have however incurred marketing spend. Figures for the Department and Executive Agencies for the 2007-08 fiscal year are as follows:
	
		
			  Department for Transport  2007-08 (£) 
			 DfT Central 26.7 million 
			 Driving Standards Agency 299,700 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 10.4 million 
			 Highways Agency 1.6 million 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 57,000 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 1.075 million 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency 80,500 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 171,800 
		
	
	Again the Department's major areas of marketing spend were in support of our marketing activities on the THINK! road safety campaign, Act on C02 campaign, Concessionary Bus Fares campaign, aviation security and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's continuous registration campaign.

Potters Bar Investigation Board

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the operation of the Potters Bar Investigation Board.

Paul Clark: The Potters Bar Investigation Board (PBIB) was appointed by the Health and Safety Commission following the fatal derailment at Potters Bar on 10 May 2002. Following the closure of all the PBIB's recommendations, the Office of Rail Regulation's Board reviewed the work of the PBIB this summer and agreed to its disbandment.

Public Transport: Official Visits

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many official visits he plans to take using public transport in the next 12 months; and which official visits were taken using public transport by his immediate predecessor.

Geoff Hoon: All official travel undertaken by me will be made in the most efficient and cost-effective way, in accordance with the provisions of the Ministerial Code. The same rules applied to my immediate predecessor.

Railway Stations: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations she has received on the proposed closure of the South London Line between London Bridge and London Victoria stations.

Paul Clark: There is no plan to close the South London Line. However, during the period of construction works at London Bridge to deliver the Thameslink Project, it is unlikely to be possible to operate direct trains between Denmark Hill and London Bridge.

Railways: Construction

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the average cost per mile of new high-speed rail track construction.

Paul Clark: According to the 2003 Strategic Rail Authority report on high-speed rail, the average cost for the channel tunnel rail link (CTRL) section one was £19 million per route-kilometre, although this excludes some major cost items associated with station works and sunk costs. The report considered that section of the CTRL characteristic of a high-speed line extending north from London. If costs for CTRL sections one and two are included, the average cost of the CTRL was £48 million per route-kilometre including tunnelling.
	Precise costs vary depending on a number of factors including the route, whether construction is on a disused railway alignment or built on green fields and the need for major works such as tunnelling. Costs of operation and maintenance must also be considered. Average costs do not therefore tell the whole story, but recent work for the Department for Transport suggested a new double track high-speed rail line might cost £12-16 million per route-kilometre.
	Network Rail recently announced a strategic review of the case for new rail lines. The study is expected to be complete next summer.

Schools: Publications

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place in the Library a copy of any materials her Department has distributed to schools in the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Children are a key target audience for many of our road safety and environmental messages and will benefit for example from our recent £140 million investment into encouraging children to cycle to school via construction of new safer links to schools and investment in cycle training.
	We are conscious of the significant volumes of material that head teachers receive, so the Department for Transport and our Executive Agencies do not distribute materials directly to schools. We and the Highways Agency have however produced road safety materials such as THINK! road safety campaign materials, which have been distributed to various partners—road safety officers in local authorities in particular. These partners will have given out our material in schools. We also receive frequent requests from teachers for our road safety materials which they will have used/distributed in schools.

South West Trains: Tickets

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it her policy to oppose the plans by South West Trains to reduce ticket office opening hours at 114 stations, following the August 2008 report from Passenger Focus; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The procedures for making changes to ticket office opening hours are set down in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA). The TSA permits operators to make changes to the opening hours of their ticket offices as long as the appropriate specified criteria are met.
	If objections are raised and not resolved, the TSA provides for an arbitration process to be followed. This can include referral by the train operating company to the Secretary of State for Transport for a decision. It would therefore be inappropriate for the Secretary of State to comment on the proposed changes at this stage.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Voluntary Work

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Cabinet Office's programmes to encourage voluntary action in the last 12 months.

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's programmes to encourage voluntary work.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) and the right hon. Member for Bracknell (Mr. Mackay).

Voluntary Work

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government programmes to encourage voluntary work.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) and the right hon. Member for Bracknell (Mr. Mackay).

Voluntary Work

David Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government programmes to encourage voluntary work.

Kevin Brennan: There have been a range of Government programmes that have encouraged and supported volunteering. The statistics from the 2007-08 Citizenship Survey show that the proportion of people who volunteered at least once in the last 12 months remains high at 73 per cent. of all adults.

Government Communications: Security

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the security of data within the Government communications network; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: On 25 June 2008 the Cabinet Office set out mandatory measures to improve data security across Government. I can state that central Government Departments have reported that the majority of these measures are in place and they are working to complete their delivery.

Power of Information Task Force

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made by the power of information task force; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The Power of Information Taskforce is making rapid progress and is on course to deliver the recommendations by the end of the year. Early success is demonstrated by the Show Us A Better Way competition—something  The Guardian called the 'X-Factor of public services'—to find new and innovative uses of public sector information. Progress can be followed on their blog at:
	www.showusabetterway.co.uk

Information Assurance

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what measurable improvements the Cabinet Office has recorded in regard to its responsibilities for information assurance.

Tom Watson: On 25 June 2008 the Cabinet Office set out mandatory measures to improve data security across Government. I can state that central Government Departments have reported that the majority of these measures are in place and they are working to complete their delivery.

Voluntary Sector

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to improve the operation and delivery of public services provided by the voluntary sector; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Public funding to the third sector to deliver services has more than doubled from £5 billion to £11 billion since 1997. The Government set out their plan to improve public service delivery, in 2006, and we are making good progress on these commitments. This includes, providing training for public sector commissioners; supporting innovation through the Innovation Exchange; investing in capital development through Futurebuilders; and improving the sustainability of the sector by making three year funding the norm rather than the exception.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which projects his Department has commissioned from  (a) think tanks and  (b) charities in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what the aim of each project was; which think tank or charity was commissioned; and how much was paid.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office commissions work from a range of organisations to help support its work across government including supporting the environment for a thriving third sector.
	The Cabinet Office does not hold a central list of contractors for all projects commissioned and to compile one could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) the executive agencies for which he is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff.

Tom Watson: The civil service is committed to reflecting the society we serve at all levels—clearly, this includes disabled people. The recently published "Promoting Equality, Valuing Diversity—A Strategy for the Civil Service" builds on what has already been achieved and sets out what the civil service wants to achieve in equality and diversity in employment over the next three to five years. The document is available on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/news/2008/july/17_07_08_diversity.asp.
	The following table shows the median earnings of disabled staff, broken down by full-time and part-time working patterns for all Departments and agencies. Further data on the disabled status of civil service staff are available on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk =2899&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422.
	
		
			  Median income by government department, disability status and working pattern; 30 September 2007( 1, 2, 7) 
			   Full-time  Part-time( 3) 
			   Declared disabled  Declared non-disabled  Declared Disabled  Declared non-disabled 
			  Attorney General's Departments 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 29,050 26,080 25,500 24,600 
			 Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (4)— 21,390 0 0 
			 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 0 22,700 0 0 
			 Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office 27,530 27,500 0 26,420 
			 Serious Fraud Office 24,570 29,390 0 25,440 
			 Treasury Solicitor 24,600 43,460 (4)— 54,350 
			  
			  Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
			 Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 26,230 28,360 26,380 23,800 
			 Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service 29,870 (4)— (4)— 0 
			 Companies House 17,430 17,430 17,430 17,430 
			 Insolvency Service (4)— (4)— 0 0 
			 Office of Fair Trading 23,710 31,960 0 46,320 
			 Office of Gas and Electricity Market (4)— 38,720 0 32,320 
			 Postal Services Commission (4)— 34,640 0 (4)— 
			  
			  Cabinet Office 
			 Cabinet Office (excl. agencies) 25,680 27,810 (4)— 24,440 
			  
			  Other Cabinet Office agencies 
			 Central Office of Information 32,260 36,000 (4)— 37,700 
			 National School of Government (4)— 26,990 (4)— 20,260 
			 Parliamentary Counsel Office (4)— 76,430 0 (4)— 
			  
			  HM Treasury 
			 HM Treasury 24,830 28,800 (4)— 26,980 
			  
			  HM Revenue and Customs 
			 HM Revenue and Customs 18,720 22,910 18,720 18,720 
			 Valuation Office 22,010 22,780 15,770 18,260 
			  
			  Chancellor's other departments 
			 Debt Management Office 0 49,350 0 33,290 
			 Government Actuary's Department 0 42,600 0 (4)— 
			 National Savings and investments (4)— 39,990 0 26,820 
			 Office of Government Commerce 48,210 42,020 0 0 
			 OGC buying Solutions (4)— 26,920 0 21,690 
			 Office for National Statistics(5) 22,980 22,980 17,280 17,350 
			 Royal Mint 37,000 18,040 0 15,500 
			  
			  Charity Commission 
			 Charity Commission 22,020 25,400 21,670 22,020 
			  
			  Children, Schools and Families 
			 Department for Children, Schools and Families(6) 28,270 30,040 29,780 25,590 
			  
			  Innovation, Universities and Skills 
			 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills(6) 27,670 31,300 28,130 25,920 
			 National Weights and Measures Laboratory (4)— 33,260 0 22,490 
			 UK Intellectual Property Office 0 23,210 0 17,430 
			  
			  Office for Standards In Education 
			 Office for Standards in Education 29,890 33,270 26,130 20,090 
			  
			  Communities and Local Government (excl. agencies) 
			 Department for Communities and Local Government 27,670 29,670 31,410 29,860 
			 Fire Service College (4)— 21,220 0 15,940 
			 Ordnance Survey 25,000 25,010 (4)— 24,160 
			 Planning Inspectorate 18,290 26,880 (4)— 45,040 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 0 29,980 0 (4)— 
			  
			  Culture, Media and Sport 
			 Department for Culture Media and Sport(6) 24,720 29,410 (4)— 30,880 
			 Royal Parks (4)— 28,140 0 (4)— 
			  
			  Defence 
			 Ministry of Defence 20,550 21,320 18,710 19,320 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary 0 (4)— 0 (4)— 
			 Army Base Repair Organisation 19,900 19,900 (4)— 15,470 
			 Defence Aviation Repair Agency 23,100 23,100 (4)— 20,900 
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 28,840 32,480 23,150 32,350 
			 Met Office 26,960 28,180 (4)— 30,690 
			 UK Hydrographic Office n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
			 Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (excl. agencies) 27,420 28,900 21,890 28,840 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 19,620 24,400 (4)— 23,160 
			 Central Science Laboratory 23,330 24,470 0 20,550 
			 Government Decontamination Services (4)— 25,800 0 18,410 
			 Marine and Fisheries Agency 25,330 24,440 (4)— 14,920 
			 Office of Water Services (4)— 25,000 (4)— 23,090 
			 Pesticides Safety Directorate 18,940 28,120 (4)— 28,620 
			 Rural Payments Agency 19,260 21,190 18,690 19,260 
			 Animal Health 18,550 23,010 18,120 23,780 
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency 19,080 22,380 18,530 20,260 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate (4)— 28,520 (4)— 22,530 
			  
			  Export Credits Guarantee Department 
			 Export Credit Guarantee Department 27,400 33,300 (4)— 31,650 
			  
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (excl agencies) 25,610 29,660 16,910 26,630 
			 Wilton Park Executive Agency n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  Health 
			 Department of Health (excl agencies)(6) 35,360 39,240 30,670 37,400 
			 Food Standards Agency 26,820 29,150 (4)— 29,930 
			 Meat Hygiene Service 23,840 21,820 (4)— 21,820 
			 Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 41,280 33,340 (4)— 38,230 
			 National Healthcare Purchasing and Supplies (4)— 34,840 (4)— 32,550 
			 NHS Business Services Authority (CM Service only) 15,950 15,950 (4)— 15,950 
			  
			  Home Office 
			 Home Office (excl agencies)(6) 21,730 32,480 15,860 20,890 
			 Assets Recovery Agency (4)— 30,310 0 23,470 
			 Border and Immigration Agency 24,680 24,680 20,190 19,750 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 15,470 19,140 (4)— 18,920 
			 Identity and Passport Service 17,270 15,480 15,300 13,720 
			 Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (4)— 35,960 0 42,890 
			  
			  Justice 
			 Ministry of Justice (excl. agencies) 26,810 30,200 28,370 28,840 
			 HM Courts Service 18,480 18,870 16,790 16,980 
			 Land Registry 20,240 22,370 20,240 20,760 
			 National Archives 23,110 23,740 (4)— 16,590 
			 Public Guardianship Office 21,080 23,760 (4)— 20,810 
			 Tribunals Service 17,500 17,680 16,980 17,180 
			 Scotland Office 0 21,800 0 0 
			 Wales Office (4)— 28,440 0 (4)— 
			 Public Sector Prison Service 23,870 22,670 16,980 17,200 
			  
			  International Development 
			 Department for International Development n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			  Northern Ireland Office 
			 Northern Ireland Office (4)— 27,890 (4)— 15,330 
			  
			  Security and Intelligence Services 
			 Security and Intelligence Services 25,490 28,980 24,500 25,240 
			  
			  Transport 
			 Department for Transport (excl agencies)(6) 27,660 31,330 (4)— 29,310 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 17,010 17,010 16,460 17,010 
			 Driving Standards Agency 22,590 23,610 18,370 19,790 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 28,020 24,440 0 (4)— 
			 Highways Agency 22,110 20,590 20,320 20,310 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Office of Rail Regulation 26,820 40,050 (4)— 38,830 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency (4)— 33,260 (4)— 18,890 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 22,010 25,360 (4)— 19,560 
			  
			  Work and Pensions 
			 DWP Corporate Services 26,920 27,890 25,750 24,410 
			 DWP Shared Services 17,250 15,880 17,250 17,250 
			 Child Support Agency 17,250 15,300 17,250 15,300 
			 Disability and Carers Service 17,600 17,250 17,250 17,250 
			 Job Centre Plus 20,310 18,980 19,040 17,600 
			 Pension Service 17,600 16,780 17,250 17,250 
			 The Health and Safety Executive 23,660 31,310 30,230 24,500 
			 The Rent Service 24,750 23,310 0 18,710 
			  
			  Scottish Government 
			 Scottish Government (excl agencies) 27,320 22,860 26,110 19,150 
			 Communities Scotland 34,120 24,940 34,120 24,940 
			 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service 17,570 (4)— 0 (4)— 
			 Courts Group (4)— (4)— 0 0 
			 Fisheries Research Services 24,910 23,710 23,150 (4)— 
			 General Register Scotland 23,710 18,120 16,610 12,900 
			 HM Inspectorate of Education 45,350 32,250 17,000 (4)— 
			 Historic Scotland 13,480 18,730 13,180 14,860 
			 Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland 16,610 14,650 (4)— (4)— 
			 National Archive for Scotland 24,810 20,730 18,960 (4)— 
			 Office of Accountant in Bankruptcy 15,960 19,240 (4)— 16,610 
			 Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator 28,520 20,360 0 0 
			 Registers of Scotland 16,650 20,110 21,430 21,870 
			 Scottish Agricultural Scientific Agency 25,560 15,740 24,910 (4)— 
			 Scottish Buildings Standards Agency 32,250 (4)— (4)— 0 
			 Scottish Court Service 16,390 16,990 15,670 15,570 
			 Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency 26,780 21,040 14,720 (4)— 
			 Scottish Prison Service 25,940 25,940 19,800 25,690 
			 Scottish Public Pensions Agency 16,610 14,690 16,610 16,610 
			 Social Work Inspection Agency 23,710 45,350 22,030 (4)— 
			 Student Awards Agency 16,610 15,820 16,610 (4)— 
			 Transport Scotland 32,250 25,020 29,450 (4)— 
			  
			  Welsh Assembly 
			 Welsh Assembly Government 22,200 25,340 22,200 22,200 
			 ESTYN (4)— 50,480 (4)— 18,910 
			 (1 )Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. (2 )Table does not include individuals who did not declare a disability status. (3) Salaries of part-time staff are reported as a full-time equivalent figure. (4) Numbers less than five. (5) Figures for the Office for National Statistics exclude field staff who were not civil servants at the reference date. (6) Includes government office for the regions employees. (7 )Due to the self-reporting nature of disability and the process by which part time salaries are up-rated in order that they are comparable to full-time staff salaries, care should be exercised when drawing conclusions based on these statistics.  Source:  Annual Civil Service Employment Survey 
		
	
	Further data on the disabled status of civil service staff are available on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422.

Higher Civil Servants: Manpower

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what change there has been in the number of  (a) women,  (b) black and minority ethnic people and  (c) people with disabilities holding senior Civil Service posts since 1997.

Tom Watson: The following table sets out the changes in numbers of senior civil servants between 1997 and 2007 (the date for which latest figures are available).
	
		
			  Number of SCS by diversity group 
			   April 1997  October 2007  Change 
			 Women in the SCS 530 1,340 +810 
			 SCS from black and minority ethnic groups 28 123 +95 
			 SCS with disabilities 28 112 +84 
			  Source: SCS Database, Cabinet Office

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings Ministers and officials in her Department have had with telecommunications and internet service providers on the establishment of a national database to store telecommunications and internet traffic data and connected information.

Vernon Coaker: Home Office officials have had a number of meetings with telecommunications and Internet Service Providers to inform the Government's consideration of work to modernise our national interception capabilities in the light of changes to communications technology.
	Our ability to lawfully intercept communications and obtain communications data is critical to combating the threat posed by terrorism and in tackling serious and organised crime such as child sex abuse, kidnap, murder and drug related crime.
	Proposals are still under development, and when finalised will be presented to Parliament.

Departmental Surveillance

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (i) undertake directed surveillance, (ii) use covert human intelligence sources, (iii) acquire communications data and (iv) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office is not a listed public authority for the purposes of intrusive surveillance and therefore does not use it. However, the Home Office (UK Border Agency) may acquire communications data, use directed surveillance and deploy covert human intelligence sources in connection with its work. Figures on public authority use of covert techniques controlled by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ('RIPA') are published annually by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner who each have particular inspection and oversight responsibilities under RIPA. The latest reports were laid before Parliament and copies placed in the House Library on 22 July. The figures provided in the reports are not broken down by individual public authority use of specific covert technique as, depending on the particular technique and authority using it, this could either reveal sensitivities or be misleading. The question of further disclosure for any particular public authority is a matter for the relevant Commissioner.

Dyfed-Powys Police Authority: Manpower

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) civilian staff were employed by Dyfed-Powys police authority in each year since 2001.

Vernon Coaker: The available data are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Dyfed-Powys  p olice officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  as at 31 March  20 01 to  31 March  20 08 
			   Number 
			 2001 1,055 
			 2002 1,132 
			 2003(3) 1,149 
			 2004(3) 1,160 
			 2005(3) 1,174 
			 2006(3) 1,182 
			 2007(3) 1,177 
			 2008(3) 1,181 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003, and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison. 
		
	
	
		
			  Dyfed-Powys police staff strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  as at 31 March 2001 to 31 March 2008 
			   Number 
			 2001 401 
			 2002 459 
			 2003(3) 502 
			 2004(3) 523 
			 2005(3) 531 
			 2006(3) 566 
			 2007(3) 606 
			 2008(3) 625 
			 (1) Civilian staff have been referred to as police staff since March 2003. Figures exclude traffic wardens, police community support officers and designated officers (s.38). (2) Total strength is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between these totals and the totals in other tables. Figures exclude those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity unless otherwise stated. (3) Strength figures as at 31 March 2003 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.

Emergency Calls: Hoaxes and False Alarms

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hoax 999 calls were answered by the Metropolitan Police in the last period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: This information is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Office of the Surveillance Commissioners

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners is a public authority for the purposes of the  (a) Freedom of Information Act 2000 and  (b) Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Vernon Coaker: The Office of Surveillance Commissioners is not a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Information about their independent oversight role can be found in their published annual reports or on their website.

Olympic Games 2012

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent members of staff in  (a) her Department and  (b) its associated public bodies are working on projects relating to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics games; how many of those work on (i) project management, (ii) legacy planning, (iii) project oversight and (iv) financial oversight; and what plans she has for future staffing levels in each case.

Vernon Coaker: There are currently 12 members of the Home Office engaged full-time on aspects of development of and planning for the London 2012 games. Roles are not specifically project based. Other staff in the Home Office and its agencies, such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency, are involved in Olympic-related projects as part of their wider duties as required.
	There are currently 111 staff working in the multi-agency Olympic Security Directorate. 97 of these staff are engaged in predominantly project and programme roles which involve both financial oversight and legacy planning.
	Staffing numbers in both the Home Office and the Olympic Security Directorate will fluctuate according to the demands of the programme and are kept under constant review.

Police: Bureaucracy

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of administration was in each police force in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and how many people were employed to carry out this work in each police force in each year.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 17 September 2008
	 The information requested on police administration costs is not held centrally. Details of total revenue and capital grants are held but not details of expenditure.
	The information requested on the number of people employed to carry out administration are not held centrally. The numbers of police staff are given in the following table.
	Police staff are individuals who are employed by the police service to support the service and ensure it runs efficiently and effectively, working in partnership with those in uniform.
	
		
			  Police staff strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by police force as at 31 March 1999 to 31 March 2008 
			  Police force  1999( 3)  2000  2001( 4)  2002  2003( 5)  2004( 5)  2005( 5)  2006( 5)  2007( 3,5)  2008( 5) 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,424 1,436 1,452 1,611 1,785 2,004 2,005 2,080 2,208 2,289 
			 Bedfordshire 483 490 491 524 595 668 713 759 744 724 
			 Cambridgeshire 586 503 614 733 786 838 832 898 922 892 
			 Cheshire 785 823 833 884 1,008 1,149 1,137 1,170 1,262 1,406 
			 Cleveland 552 595 586 626 694 764 748 697 711 701 
			 Cumbria 442 469 588 631 676 705 730 732 743 773 
			 Derbyshire 818 826 875 953 1,061 1,131 1,165 1,109 1,204 1,266 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,215 1,343 1,453 1,639 1,834 1,926 2,034 2,082 2,046 2,147 
			 Dorset 702 686 682 741 793 823 881 918 973 959 
			 Durham 559 590 566 660 602 600 736 733 762 816 
			 Essex 1,273 1,348 1,447 1,571 1,682 1,876 1,968 1,968 1,918 1,986 
			 Gloucestershire 504 484 506 545 590 642 663 694 718 700 
			 Greater Manchester 2,623 2,822 2,858 3,135 3,173 3,452 3,303 3,352 3,369 3,534 
			 Hampshire 1,381 1,443 1,482 1,597 1,720 1,865 1,965 2,099 2,354 2,430 
			 Hertfordshire 835 890 935 1,121 1,299 1,408 1,414 1,489 1,501 1,490 
			 Humberside 840 840 808 816 880 979 1,034 1.097 1,213 1,313 
			 Kent 1,582 1,647 1,796 1,958 2,095 2,267 2,228 2,292 2,285 2,337 
			 Lancashire 1,198 1,422 1,369 1,442 1,489 1,683 1,715 1,764 1,802 1,927 
			 Leicestershire 802 805 806 816 934 1,007 1,033 1,079 1,141 1,142 
			 Lincolnshire 517 516 561 600 641 657 678 677 720 760 
			 London, City of 314 285 233 247 268 285 298 314 319 299 
			 Merseyside 1,356 1,458 1,418 1,532 1,752 1,855 2,126 2,207 2,173 2,203 
			 Metropolitan Police 11,257 10,605 10,040 10,459 11,358 12,595 13,561 13,836 14,016 14,085 
			 Norfolk 648 655 694 819 924 973 984 1,064 1,059 1,053 
			 Northamptonshire 587 599 694 742 812 874 973 1,010 1,009 1,024 
			 Northumbria 1,443 1,417 1,416 1,403 1,457 1,495 1,491 1,665 1,711 1,863 
			 North Yorkshire 541 492 591 743 723 864 928 1,039 1,128 1,079 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,039 1,024 1,039 1,087 1,180 1,285 1,318 1,385 1,370 1,372 
			 South Yorkshire 1,273 1,391 1,312 1,352 1,510 1,583 1,729 1,853 1,978 2,038 
			 Staffordshire 1,004 858 935 1,030 1,146 1,255 1,325 1,305 1,287 1,309 
			 Suffolk 594 600 621 692 713 789 813 853 847 814 
			 Surrey 733 762 897 1,043 1,245 1,352 1,472 1,541 1,680 1,808 
			 Sussex 1,393 1,328 1,454 1,507 1,578 1,811 1,950 1,994 1,994 1,974 
			 Thames Valley 1,799 1,786 1,891 2,061 2,412 2,620 2,611 2,782 2,756 2,772 
			 Warwickshire 406 394 412 459 503 525 590 609 624 629 
			 West Mercia 975 1,043 1,095 1,116 1,233 1,391 1,492 1,563 1,618 1.647 
			 West Midlands 2,652 2,695 2,819 3,007 3,012 3,100 3,143 3,300 3,348 3,436 
			 West Yorkshire 2,216 2,199 2,228 2,364 2,538 2,776 3,016 3,183 3,077 3,247 
			 Wiltshire 555 563 622 649 703 764 811 851 859 879 
			 Dyfed-Powys 341 359 401 459 502 523 531 566 606 625 
			 Gwent 487 498 537 570 607 629 688 749 805 855 
			 North Wales 508 519 498 645 703 849 867 882 759 774 
			 South Wales 1,223 1,081 1,270 1,435 1,366 1,453 1,510 1,543 1,559 1,575 
			
			 NCS 275 352 367 405 524 603 0 779 — — 
			 NCIS(6) 291 287 398 482 — — 0 1 — — 
			
			 Total England and Wales 53,031 53,227 54,588 58,909 63,105 68,693 71,209 74,563 75,178 76,948 
			 (1) Civilian staff have been referred to as police staff since March 2003. Figures exclude traffic wardens, police community support officers and designated officers (s.38). (2) Total strength is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between these totals and the totals in other tables. Figures exclude those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity unless otherwise stated. (3) The National Crime Intelligence Service (NCIS) and the National Crime Squad (NCS) were established and set up as independent bodies by the Police Act 1997 effective as of 1 April 1998. Following the launch of the Serious Organised Crime Squad (SOCA) on 1 April 2006, strength totals will no longer include details of NCS or NCIS staff. (4) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. (5) Strength figures as at 31 March 2003 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table. (6) NCIS were unable to provide figures as at 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004.

Police: Per Capita Costs

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding was allocated per head of population to each police authority in Wales in 2007-08; and how much is planned for 2008-09.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	The Government do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of data relating to demographic and social characteristics to reflect the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative tax base of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping to limit year-on-year variations.
	
		
			  Welsh Police Authority Government Revenue Grant Allocations 2007-08 and 2008-09 
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			   Total Revenue grant( 1) ( £ million )  Resident population (million)  Total Revenue grant( 1) (£  million )  Resident population (million) 
			 Dyfed-Powys 65.2 0.51 70.9 0.51 
			 Gwent 88.4 0.56 94.5 0.57 
			 North Wales 96.9 0.68 100.5 0.68 
			 South Wales 206.7 1.23 212.3 1.23 
			 (1) Total Revenue Grant includes formula grant and all specific grants.  Source: Population: Office of National Statistics, population projections Grants: Home Office for general grant and specific grants, WAG for revenue support grant and national non domestic rates.

Police: Procurement

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies her Department has undertaken into police procurement policies and practices since 2005.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has undertaken no such studies since 2005. Earlier this year the Association of Chief Police Officers agreed a procurement strategy for the years to 2011. The strategy recognises that effective procurement enables the realisation of efficiency benefits and achievement of best value.

Police: Rural Areas

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines her Department has issued on back-up response times for police in rural areas in the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: No guidelines have been issued on back-up response times for police in rural areas in the last three years, as this is an operational deployment issue for Chief Officers.

Powers of Entry: Local Authorities

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what powers of entry are exercisable by representatives of a local authority under  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation;
	(2)  what reasons the PDF files of the documents relating to the survey of powers of entry published on the Home Office operational policing website in July 2008 did not allow printing or copying.

Vernon Coaker: The table placed in the House Library sets out the available information in relation to primary legislation. The information provided is subject to verification in the light of the work being carried out on the review of powers of entry referred to in an earlier response given to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend (Mr. McNulty) on 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 971W. Work to develop a complete list of powers of entry under secondary legislation is currently under way. This will be published in due course as part of the review of powers of entry.
	The PDF files were placed in error on the website with the printing and copying restrictions. The restrictions were removed as soon as it was brought to our attention.

Rape

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of rapes reported to the police which  (a) involved and  (b) did not involve excess alcohol use on the part of the victim or perpetrator resulted in (i) conviction for rape or sexual assault and (ii) pleas of guilty to rape or sexual assault in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of rapes reported to the police which  (a) involved and  (b) did not involve excess alcohol use on the part of the victim or perpetrator resulted in a prosecution progressing to trial in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;

Alan Campbell: holding answer 11 September 2008
	The data requested are not recorded.
	Information on recorded crime and court proceedings held by the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office does not identify whether alcohol was involved in an offence.

Rape: Convictions

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for the variations in rape conviction rates across areas of England and Wales; and what progress has been made by the Rape Performance Group in analysing this issue.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office published research in July 2007 (Feist et al, Investigating and Detecting Recorded Offences of Rape) which considered the influence of different factors on levels of attrition in rape cases. The Cross CJS Rape Performance Group has been established specifically to analyse the performance of police and CPS areas in relation to the investigation and prosecution of rape against a range of indicators, and reports to Ministers through the National Criminal Justice Board.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams: Greater London

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of  (a) sergeants,  (b) constables and  (c) police community support officers in Safer Neighbourhood Teams in London who have remained in their post for less than 12 months since the teams were established; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many vacancies there were for  (a) sergeants,  (b) constables and  (c) police community support officers in Safer Neighbourhood teams in each London borough in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the typical length of service of  (a) sergeants,  (b) constables and  (c) police community support officers in Safer Neighbourhood Teams in London.

Vernon Coaker: Data on length of service and vacancies in Safer Neighbourhood Teams are not collected centrally. The composition of Safer Neighbourhood Teams across London is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Street Trading: Licensing

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the cost of a pedlar's certificate in each local police authority is; and what the cost to each police authority of issuing a pedlar's certificate is;
	(2)  when the cost of a pedlar's certificate was last reviewed; and by whom;
	(3)  how many successful prosecutions of persons illegally trading as pedlars there were in each police authority area in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The statutory fee of £12.25 for a pedlar's certificate under section 5(3) of the Pedlars Act 1871 was last changed with effect from 3 February 1986 (by the Pedlars' Certificates (Variation of Fee) Order 1985/2027).
	Information on the cost to police authorities of issuing pedlars' certificates is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Data showing the number of defendants found guilty at all courts of offences under the Pedlars Act 1871, broken down by police force area, in England and Wales, 2002 to 2006 are in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under the Pedlars Act 1871, broken down by police force area, England and Wales, 2002 to 2006( 1,2) 
			  Force  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 City of London — — 1 — - 
			 Cleveland 3 — 1 1 — 
			 Derbyshire 8 10 11 12 16 
			 Devon and Cornwall — — 1 — 1 
			 Dorset 2 — 1 — — 
			 Durham 2 — — — — 
			 Essex 2 1 — 5 — 
			 Gloucestershire 1 — — — — 
			 Greater Manchester — — 5 — — 
			 Hampshire 2 3 11 10 8 
			 Hertfordshire 1 — — 2 2 
			 Humberside 1 — — — 1 
			 Kent 2 7 29 29 7 
			 Lancashire — 1 — — — 
			 Leicestershire — 3 2 — 1 
			 Lincolnshire 1 3 — — — 
			 Merseyside — 1 1 1 2 
			 Metropolitan Police — 1 3 — — 
			 Norfolk — 2 2 10 1 
			 North Yorkshire 9 5 2 — — 
			 Northumbria 3 3 3 4 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 4 11 4 7 2 
			 South Yorkshire 3 1 1 1 2 
			 Staffordshire — 1 — — — 
			 Suffolk 1 2 1 2 1 
			 Surrey — 3 2 4 — 
			 Sussex 1 — 2 5 7 
			 Thames Valley — 1 18 — 3 
			 Warwickshire — 1 — — — 
			 West Mercia 1 — 1 1 4 
			 West Midlands 1 2 1 — — 
			 West Yorkshire 2 1 1 — 1 
			 Wiltshire 2 4 2 — 2 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 1 1 — 10 
			 Gwent — — — — 1 
			 North Wales 1 — — — — 
			 South Wales 1 3 — — — 
			   
			 England and Wales 55 71 107 94 74 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: E and A Unit—OCJR, Ministry of Justice

Surveillance: Local Authorities

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what guidance  (a) her Department and  (b) the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners has given to local authorities on the level of authorisation of requests to conduct surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000;
	(2)  what guidance  (a) her Department and  (b) the Office of the Surveillance Commissioner has given to local authorities on the proportionate and necessary use of surveillance powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the effect on local authorities of the transposition and implementation of the Data Retention Directive;
	(4)  what guidance her Office has issued on each aspect of surveillance and interception under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Vernon Coaker: The level of authorisation for directed surveillance by local authorities is set out in statutory instrument 2003 No.3171: the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Directed Surveillance and Covert Human Intelligence Sources) Order 2003.
	No specific guidance has been given to local authorities on the proportionate and necessary use of surveillance powers, but guidance is contained in the statutory Code of Practice for Covert Surveillance.
	No assessment has been made of the effect on local authorities of the transposition and implementation of the Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC. However, the Directive requires communications service providers to retain communications data to ensure that public authorities, including local authorities, can continue to have access under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
	The Home Office has published statutory codes of practice under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 on Covert Surveillance; the Interception of Communications; Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data; and Covert Human Intelligence Sources. Separately, the National Policing Improvement Agency has issued "Guidance on the Lawful and Effective use of Covert Techniques" and the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Sources (LACORS) has also provided advice to local authorities.

Surveillance: Local Authorities

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirements there are on local authorities to compile a central register of surveillance activity.

Vernon Coaker: Where local authorities conduct directed surveillance within the meaning of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 they are required to maintain a record of the authorisation. This will be made available for inspection as appropriate by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, but there is no central register of local authorities' surveillance activity.

Telecommunications: Databases

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has  (a) spent and  (b) allocated to spend on consultancy and related work in connection with the establishment of a national database to store telecommunications and internet traffic data and connected information.

Vernon Coaker: The Government have been considering options for modernising our national interception capabilities in the light of changes to communications technology.
	Our ability to lawfully intercept communications and obtain communications data is critical to combating the threat posed by terrorism and in tackling serious and organised crime such as child sex abuse, kidnap, murder and drug related crime.
	The Government have not yet decided on a definitive proposal on how to modernise these capabilities. Consideration of options is under way.
	When the Government do bring forward policy proposals, they will be notified to Parliament in the proper way, with associated information on financial implications.

Terrorism: Pakistan

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with the  (a) Hindu Forum of Britain and  (b) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on the funding of terrorist groups in Pakistan by bodies in Britain; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations she has received on the diversion of British charities' funding to Pakistan to terrorist groups; and if she will make a statement;

Vernon Coaker: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has had no recent discussions with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on this subject. However, the Hindu Forum of Britain did write to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 27 July outlining their concerns that money was being diverted from British charities to terrorist groups. My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. McNulty), wrote back to the organisation on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 8 September advising them that it is an operational matter for the police to investigate allegations that money is being raised or used for terrorist purposes. The Charity Commission for England and Wales is able to co-operate fully with the police and other agencies, and to investigate any concerns that arise in such cases as an immediate priority.
	Any evidence the Hindu Forum of Britain might have to support their concerns should be forwarded to the police and the Charity Commission.

Vetting

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether employees of local authorities will be responsible for paying the fee for Independent Safeguarding Authority clearance.

Meg Hillier: The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 makes a fee payable on application for registration with the new Vetting and Barring Scheme. The fee will normally be payable by the applicant but it will be open to employers to pay the fee on behalf of their employees, should they choose to do so. Checks for unpaid volunteers will be free of charge.

Vetting

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether local authority workers who have been cleared by the Criminal Records Bureau must apply for clearance under the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Meg Hillier: The Criminal Records Bureau provides a check on criminal records information for eligible employees and volunteers. The new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will consider whether individuals are suitable for work with children or vulnerable adults, and will have the power to bar those considered unsuitable. Where local authority or other workers are providing regulated or controlled activities as defined under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, they will need to apply to be registered with the ISA, in addition to any CRB check. It will normally be possible to obtain a CRB check at the same time as the initial application to the ISA.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academies plan to open in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010,  (c) 2011 and  (d) 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: There are currently 51 projects in feasibility or implementation for opening in September 2009, 18 for 2010, four for 2011 and one for 2012. A list of these projects is set out. As part of the National Challenge there is now funding for 80 Academies to open in 2009 and 100 in 2010.
	 PROJECT
	 2009
	Bedfordshire 1, The Northfields Technology College
	Bexley 2, Haberdashers' Crayford Academy, Barnes Cray Primary School
	Birmingham 1, Heartlands Academy, Heartlands High School
	Birmingham 3, College High Academy, The College High Specialist Arts School
	Birmingham 6, Shenley Court, Shenley Court Specialist Arts College and Sixth Form Centre
	Birmingham 8, St Albans Academy, St Alban's CE Specialist Engineering College
	Bradford 3, The Rhodesway Academy, Rhodesway School
	Bradford 5, Wyke Manor School
	Brent 3, John Kelly Boys Technology College
	Brent 4, John Kelly Girls Technology College
	Bristol 6, Bristol Metropolitan Academy, Bristol Metropolitan College
	Buckinghamshire 1, Quarrendon School
	Cheshire 1, North Area Academy
	Cumbria 3, The Alfred Barrow School and Thomcliffe School, Parkview
	Derby 2, Sinfin Community School
	Dudley 3, Castle High School and Visual Arts College
	Enfield 3 - Oasis Academy, Albany
	Hertfordshire 2, Francis Combe School and Community College
	Kent 11, Tunbridge Wells High School
	Lancashire 3, Fulwood H.S. and Arts College, Tulketh Community Sports College (PFI), Fulwood
	Leeds 2, South Leeds High School
	Leeds 4, Intake High School
	Manchester 4a, Creative and Media Academy (Boys), North Manchester High School for Boys
	Manchester 4b, Creative and Media Academy (Girls), North Manchester High School for Girls
	Manchester 6, Manchester Enterprise Academy, Parklands High School
	Medway 1
	Northumberland 2, Hirst Academy, Hirst High School
	Nottingham 4, Nottingham Academy, Elliott Durham School and Greenwood Dale School
	Sheffield 3, Parkwood High School
	South Gloucestershire 2, The Ridings High School
	South Gloucestershire 3, King Edmund Community School
	Walsall 2, Darlaston Community Science College
	West Sussex 1, The Littlehampton Community School
	West Sussex 4, Kings Manor Community College
	Wirral 1, Birkenhead High School
	Tameside 2, Droylsden Academy, Littlemoss High for Boys and Droylsden School
	Essex 1, East Basildon Academies, Chalvedon School and Barstable School
	Essex 2, East Basildon Academies, Chalvedon School and Barstable School
	Hackney 4, City of London KPMG Academy, Homerton College of Technology
	Kensington and Chelsea 1, The Chelsea Science Academy, (New School)
	Kent 4, Isle of Sheppey, Minster College, St. Georges CofE Middle, Danley Middle, Cheyne Middle
	Kingston upon Hull 1, Sirius Academy, Pickering High School Sports College
	Milton Keynes 1, Milton Keynes Academy, Sir Frank Markham Community School
	Northumberland 1, Bede Academy, Primary - South Beach First School; Secondary - New School
	Nottingham 2, Nottingham Bulwell Academy, The River Leen School and Henry Mellish Comprehensive School
	Nottingham 3 - Nottingham University Samworth Academy
	Southwark 7 - Harris Boys Academy East Dulwich
	Sunderland 2, Castle View Enterprise Academy, Castle View School
	Sunderland 3, Red House Academy, Hylton Red House School
	West Sussex 3, TBC, Boundstone Community College
	Wiltshire 1, Wellington Academy, Castledown School
	 2010
	Bedfordshire 2, John Bunyan Upper School
	Birmingham 5, Sheldon Heath Community Arts College
	Brighton and Hove 1, Falmer Academy, Falmer High School
	Calderdale 1, Holy Trinity CofE Senior School
	Coventry 2, Swanswell, Sidney Stringer School
	Derbyshire 1, Shirebrook Academy, Shirebrook School
	Hackney 5, Hackney Skinners Academy, The Skinners' Company School for Girls
	Hammersmith and Fulham 2, Hammersmith and Fulham Academy, New Academy Havering 1 - Kings Wood
	Manchester 2, Manchester Communications Academy
	Manchester 3, East Manchester Academy
	Manchester 5, The Co-operative Academy, Plant Hill High School
	Manchester 7, Health Academy, Brookway High School and Sports College
	Oldham 1, Oasis Oldham Academy, Kaskenmoor School and South Chadderton School
	Oldham 2, Two Hills Academy, Counthill School and Breeze Hill School
	Oldham 3, The Grange Academy, Grange School
	Staffordshire 1, JCB Academy, New School
	Staffordshire 2
	 2011
	Birmingham 2, Eastside Academy
	Camden 1 - UCL Camden Academy
	Gloucester 1, Cheltenham Academy, Cheltenham Kingsmead and St. Benedict's Catholic School
	St. Helens 1, Newton Academy, St. Aelred's Catholic Technology College and Newton-le-Willows High School
	 2012
	Redbridge 1, TBC, New School

Academies: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of the proportion of children known to be eligible for free school meals in each academy and its predecessor school in each year since 2000-01; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Advertising

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government have taken to regulate advertising aimed at children.

Jim Knight: All commercial broadcasters are subject to statutory standards codes governing broadcast advertising which they must comply with as a condition of their licence. Non-broadcast advertising in the UK is strictly controlled through industry self-regulation, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
	Both the broadcast and non-broadcast advertising codes contain strict rules relating specifically to general children's advertising as well as specific rules preventing the promotion of products such as alcohol and cigarettes, as well as restricting food promotion to children.
	Changes introduced by Ofcom in February 2007 strengthened the rules for broadcast advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar—which may not be advertised in or adjacent to programmes commissioned for, principally directed at or likely to appeal particularly to audiences below the age of 16. Ofcom also set out new rules on the content of advertisements targeted at primary school children. These rules ban the use of celebrities and characters licensed from third-parties (such as cartoons), promotional claims (such as free gifts) and health or nutrition claims.
	Non-broadcast advertising rules, including on the internet, were also strengthened in 2007.
	The new rules protect all children, defined as persons under 16. In addition, ASA/Committee of Advertising Practice have placed tougher restrictions on food or drink product adverts that are directly targeted at primary school or pre-school children through their content.

Children: Advertising

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government have taken to assess the effect of advertising on children.

Jim Knight: This Government launched an independent assessment of the impact of the commercial world, with open calls for evidence, on 7 April 2008. The assessment is examining children's commercial world in the broadest sense, including: products; commercial messages; shopping; the market for children's good and services; and any further involvement that children may have. The assessment is not restricted to advertising.
	The assessment is being led by Professor David Buckingham—Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, London university. He is the founder and director of the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media. The assessment panel is made up of leading experts from a range of disciplines.
	We think it is important that we reach a consensus as to what is changing for children with regard to the commercial world; how those changes impact on children, both positive and negative, and what children and parents really think.
	This assessment will report back to DCSF and DCMS in spring 2009.

Departmental Manpower

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on salaries for press and communications officers in  (a) his Department,  (b) its NDPBs and  (c) its agencies in each of the last three years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is as follows.
	 (a) The Department for Children, Schools and Families was established in June 2007 and as a result we are only able to provide information from June 2007 to March 2008. The salary cost for employing press officers in the Department was £906,462 and the cost of employing communications officers was £2,582,579.
	 (b) The Department does not have any agencies.
	 (c) We do not hold costs for our non-departmental public bodies.

Departmental Standards

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what targets were not achieved by his Department in each of the last 10 years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department published its autumn performance report on 7 December 2007 and copies are available in the House Library (Cm 7279). The autumn performance report shows assessments of progress against my Department's Spending Review public service agreement (PSA) targets. Annex B contains summary tables showing final assessments for PSA targets from 1998. The 2008 departmental report (Cm7391) published on 19 May 2008 included latest assessments of progress against Spending Review 2004 PSA targets and the 2008 autumn performance report due to be published later this year will include final assessments for those Spending Review 2004 PSA targets which have now come to an end.

Departmental Standards

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a list of the  (a) targets and  (b) quantifiable aims which his Department is committed to meeting.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department published its Children's Plan on 11 December 2007 which set out the vision for children and children's services, our delivery plans for the next three years and put those in the context of our longer term ambitions for improving children and young people's lives. The Department leads on five cross-governmental PSAs for children and young people which were announced in CSR07. They are:
	PSA 10: Raise the educational achievement of all children and young people;
	PSA 11: Narrow the gap in educational achievement between children from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers;
	PSA 12: Improve the health and well-being of children and young people;
	PSA 13: Improve children and young people's safety; and
	PSA 14: Increase the number of children and young people on the path to success.
	A series of indicators underpin each PSA, a number of which make up part of the local government National Indicator Set. All the indicators are brought together through the Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes framework. The 2008 autumn performance report due to be published later in the year, will for the first time, include reporting against the 2007 comprehensive spending review PSAs which the Department leads on. PSA Delivery Agreements are available on the HM Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr/psa/pbr_csr07_psaopportunity.cfm

Grammar Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) legislative changes and  (b) departmental approval would be needed to open a new grammar school; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The law prohibits the introduction of any new selection by ability. We intend no change to this. Local parents can decide whether each existing grammar school continues, and ballot accordingly.

Grammar Schools: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of pupils attending grammar schools was known to be eligible for free school meals in  (a) 1978, (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what proportion of pupils was entitled to free school meals in  (a) grammar schools,  (b) academies and  (c) all other maintained schools in each year from 1997 to 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The requested information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Head Teachers: Temporary Employment

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in Yorkshire and the Humber have temporary headteachers; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.
	In January 2008, there were 40 head teacher posts in Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region that were either vacant or temporarily filled. In England, there were 550.
	Posts were counted where there is no incumbent who is expected to return to the post, whether or not it is filled or on a temporary basis, whether or not advertised or an appointment has been made and not yet taken up.
	 Source:
	The source of this information is the Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618 g.

Head Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many headteachers between the ages of 55 and 60 years there are in maintained schools in each local authority.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Information for the proportion of full-time heads employed in local authority maintained schools in England by age group is available from the Departments website (table D4) at the following web link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000743/Addition_D_DOU.xls

Joint Advisory Council for Qualifications

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the remit of the Joint Advisory Council for Qualifications will be; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whom he expects to appoint as the  (a) chair and  (b) chief executive of the Joint Advisory Council for Qualifications; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  when he expects the Joint Advisory Council for Qualifications to be in operation; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  where the Joint Advisory Council for Qualifications will be based; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The remit of the Joint Advisory Committee for Qualifications Approval (JACQA) is to give advice to the Secretary of State on which 14-19 qualifications should be publicly funded, in line with the policy set out in the 14-19 qualifications strategy, which we published in March this year. We will publish a formal remit for the Committee in advance of its first meeting, which we expect to take place in December this year.
	The Committee will be co-chaired by and jointly responsible to the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). These organisations will also provide a joint secretariat to the Committee. The secretariat is currently considering the logistical arrangements for the Committee's inaugural meeting. The Committee will not exist on a statutory basis, and will not have any executive or decision-making powers. It will therefore not have a chief executive officer.

National Curriculum Tests

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations were received by  (a) his Department,  (b) the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and  (c) the National Assessment Agency on the arrangements for administration and marking of the key stage tests for 2008 in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department received correspondence in 2006 and 2007 about aspects of the national curriculum tests but nothing specific to the administration and marking of Key Stage tests for 2008. Ministers meet with Teachers' Unions on a regular basis, where national curriculum tests will feature on the agenda.
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the development and administration of National Curriculum tests. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) administers the tests and manages the delivery contract, on QCA's behalf. In 2006, NAA undertook a procurement exercise and received representations from prospective contractors. In both 2006 and 2007 the NAA received representations from schools, local authorities, parents and our social partners on a variety of matters about national curriculum tests.

National Curriculum Tests

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many prospective markers for  (a) key stage two and  (b) key stage three failed the tests for marking quality at the (i) standardisation stage and (ii) monitoring stage in (A) science, (B) mathematics and (C) English in each year from 2005 to 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many markers were employed to mark the key stage  (a) two and  (b) three tests in (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) science in (A) 2006, (B) 2007 and (C) 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the development and administration of national curriculum tests. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) administers the tests and manages the delivery contract, on QCA's behalf. David Gee, Managing Director of the NAA has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from David Gee, dated 4 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, has asked me to write to you about your recent questions (221791 & 221792)
	Question 221791 To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, how many prospective key stage markers for (a) key stage two and (b) key stage three failed the tests for marking quality at the (i) standardisation stage and (ii) monitoring stage in (A) science, (B) mathematics and (C) English in each year from 2005 to 2008; and if he will make a statement.
	Please find the information you require in the tables below:
	
		
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 No. failed standardisation KS2 E (1)— (1)— (1)— 9 
			 No. failed standardisation KS2 M (1)— (1)— (1)— 0 
			 No. failed standardisation KS2 S (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 
			 No. failed standardisation KS3 R (1)— (1)— (1)— 21 
			 No. failed standardisation KS3 W (1)— (1)— (1)— 13 
			 No. failed standardisation KS3 M (1)— (1)— (1)— 1 
			 No. failed standardisation KS3 S (1)— (1)— (1)— 11 
			 (1) This information was not requested in the Edexcel contract 
		
	
	
		
			  No. failed during marking (stopped)  2006  2007  2008 
			 No. stopped KS2 E 22 3 (1)5 (9) 
			 No. stopped KS2 M 16 30 (1)5 (9) 
			 No. stopped KS2 S 14 11 (1)20 (24) 
			 No. stopped KS3 R 37 25 (1)35 (51) 
			 No. stopped KS3 W 51 27 (1)50 (65) 
			 No. stopped KS3 M 70 21 (1)8 (13) 
			 No. stopped KS3 S 70 73 (1)28 (51) 
			 (1) First number indicates the number of markers that were stopped after failing both attempts at a benchmark set and were stopped. The number in brackets represents the number of markers who failed either two benchmark sets or failed the first attempt and never attempted the second. 
		
	
	Question 221792 To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, how many markers were employed to mark the key stage (a) two and (b) three tests in (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) science in (A) 2006, (B) 2007 and (C) 2008; and if he will make a statement. Please find the information you require in the table below:
	
		
			  Total number of markers  2006  2007  2008 
			 Key stage 2 English S2 E 1,669 1,644 1,691 
			 Key stage 2 Maths 1,296 1,284 1,440 
			 Key stage 2 Science 1,242 1,241 1,543 
			 Key stage 3 Reading 913 898 976 
			 Key stage 3 Writing 916 891 790 
			 Key stage 3 Maths 1,709 1,646 1,808 
			 Key stage 2 Science 1,710 1,656 1,743

National Curriculum Tests

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the key stage two and key stage three tests in each year from 2004 to 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the development and administration of national curriculum tests. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) administers the tests and manages the delivery contract, on QCA's behalf. David Gee the managing director of the NAA has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from David Gee, dated 2 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon. Ed Balls MP, has asked me to write to you about the estimate he has made of the cost of the key stage two and key stage three tests in each year from 2004 to 2008 (221793)
	The total costs for National Curriculum Tests for each subsequent financial year (April - March) are:
	
		
			  Total cost of NCT 
			   £000 
			 2007-08 50,570 
			 2006-07 51,559 
			 2005-06 51,743 
			 2004-05 43,828 
			 2003-04 40,231 
		
	
	These figures include Test Development, Print and Distribution, Exam Marking and Data Collection, Test Administration and Maintaining Standards for Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 tests.
	The figure for 2007-8 excludes the £19.5m refund and cancellation of £4.6m in additional invoices in QCA's favour, which was agreed as part of the settlement between QCA and ETS.

National Curriculum Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  who in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority was responsible for the negotiations with ETS for the contract to administer and mark the Key Stage 2 and 3 SATs;
	(2)  pursuant to the Oral Statement of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 680, on SATS, when the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority entered into contractual discussions with ETS Europe; and for how long these discussions are expected to continue.

Jim Knight: The administration and marking of national curriculum tests is a function of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) that is delivered independently of Government. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) is responsible for the marking process. David Gee the Managing Director of the NAA has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his letters have been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from David Gee, dated 18 September 2008:
	Parliamentary Question 222023
	The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, has asked me to write to you concerning your parliamentary question relating to who in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority headed negotiations with ETS Europe for the contract to provide external marking and data collection services for key stage 2 & 3 national curriculum tests.
	During 2006, the Senior Responsible Officer for the procurement was the NAA Operations Director. Various types of discussion were held with, and presentations given by, ETS and other suppliers during the competitive dialogue procurement process at which either the NAA Managing Director and/or the NAA Operations Director and the wider NAA team were present.
	 Letter from David Gee, dated 25 September 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Rt Hon Ed Balls, has asked me to write to you to answer parliamentary question 223072 about when the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority entered into contractual discussions with ETS Europe; and for how long these discussions are expected to continue.
	These discussions commenced on the 8th July 2008 and were successfully concluded on 15th August 2008.

National Curriculum Tests: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government has taken to address recent delays in the provision of SAT results to schools in Coventry.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State and Ofqual have ordered an independent inquiry into test result delivery problems. Lord Sutherland, who has agreed to lead the inquiry, will publish his reports in the autumn. The terms of this comprehensive inquiry will investigate what went wrong, the reasons for the problems experienced and what should be done to avoid a recurrence in future years.
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the development and administration of national curriculum tests. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) administers the tests and manages the delivery contract, on QCA's behalf. David Gee, Managing Director of the NAA has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from David Gee, dated 2 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, has asked me to write to you about what steps the Government has taken to address recent delays in the provision of SAT results to schools in Coventry(222680).
	The National Assessment Agency is responsible for the delivery of Key Stage tests (SATs) on behalf of the DCSF. The external marking and data collection contract was let by NAA to ETS Europe for the 2008 tests. Following ETS' failure to deliver all test results by the contractual milestone of 8th July, the NAA has taken a number of steps to deliver outstanding results to schools as speedily as possible. These measures have been applied equally across all schools in England with missing results, including those in Coventry.
	The NAA took over direct responsibility for all outstanding marking, and for the reviews process from mid-August following termination of the contract with ETS. Markers were required to input marks into ETS' systems to allow pupils' results to be viewed via a secure website. Ongoing technical issues with ETS' systems prevented marks for some schools from being posted on the website. NAA is working with the remaining schools which are missing pupils' results to resolve the issues. In addition the NAA has increased its helpdesk capacity to respond to and make telephone calls to schools with any residual results issues.

Pupil Exclusions: Yorkshire and the Humber

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in Yorkshire and the Humber were excluded for assaulting or threatening a teacher in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: My Department collects information on the reasons why pupils have been excluded, either for a fixed period or permanently. This includes categories for "physical assault against an adult" and "verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult". It is not possible to determine if this relates to teachers or another adult within the school.
	Data on the reason for exclusion are available for 2003-04 onwards. However for 2005-06 this information is only available for secondary schools due to underlying changes in the data collection. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Primary, secondary and special schools( 1,)( )( 2) : number of permanent exclusions by reason of exclusion( 3) , 2003-04 to 2006-07( 4) —Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region 
			   Permanent exclusions 
			   Physical assault against an adult  Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 
			 2003-04 160 90 
			 2004-05 150 100 
			 2005-06 (5)— (5)— 
			 2006-07 80 90 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes non-maintained special schools, CTCs and Academies. (3) For the years 2003-04 and 2004-05 the distribution of exclusions by reason has been derived from Termly Exclusions Survey returns and applied to the number of permanent exclusions as confirmed by local authorities as part of the Schools' Census data checking exercise. (4) Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. (5) For 2005-06 available figures relate to secondary schools only, these show 70 permanent exclusions for physical assault against an adult and 80 permanent exclusions for verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult.  Source: Termly Exclusions Survey and School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Primary, secondary and special schools( 1,2) : number of fixed period exclusions by reason of exclusion( 3) , 2003-04 to 2006-07( 4) —Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region 
			   Fixed period exclusions 
			   Physical assault against an adult  Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult 
			 2003-04 2,410 10,630 
			 2004-05 2,340 10,670 
			 2005-06 (5)— (5)— 
			 2006-07 2,220 11,070 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) For 2003-04 and 2004-05 excludes non-maintained special schools and CTCs. (3) For the years 2003-04 and 2004-05 the distribution of exclusions by reason has been derived from Termly Exclusions Survey, for 2005-06 onwards it is derived from the School Census. (4) Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. (5) For 2005-06 available figures relate to secondary schools only, these show 1,140 fixed period exclusions for physical assault against an adult and 10,280 fixed period exclusions for verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult.  Source: Termly Exclusions Survey and School Census

Pupils: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 11 year olds  (a) not entitled and  (b) entitled to free school meals achieved level four in English and mathematics at key stage 2 in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The proportion of pupils at Key Stage 2  (a) not entitled to free school meals and  (b) entitled to free school meals who achieved level four and above in English and mathematics for 2007 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Subject  Not entitled to free school meals  Entitled to free school meals 
			 English 83 62 
			 Mathematics 80 60 
			  Source:  National Pupil Database (Provisional figures) 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the in the Statistical First Release "National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2006/07"
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml
	published in November 2007.
	The equivalent figures for 2006 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Subject  Not entitled to free school meals  Entitled to free school meals 
			 English 83 61 
			 Mathematics 79 58 
			  Source: National Pupil Database (Revised figures) 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the in the Statistical First Release "National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2005/06 (Revised)"
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000708/index.shtml
	published in February 2007.
	Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

School Leaving: Qualifications

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many letters he has received from members of the public on the 14 to 19 diplomas in the last three months; and what percentage of those letters have supported the programme.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Over last three months we have received a total of 113 pieces of correspondence in regard to diplomas, of which four (4.52 per cent.) were specifically in support of the introduction of diplomas. The remaining 109 pieces of correspondence were general inquiries.

Schools

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools were built between  (a) 1997 and 2007 and  (b) 1987 and 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average expenditure on school buildings was in each year from  (a) 1979 to 1997 and  (b) 1997 to 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: School Building Investment Data was published by the Department in May 2007 based on information supplied by local authorities. This showed that between 1997-8 and 2006-7, 231 new additional schools were built, and 853 were rebuilt. The information also showed that between 1992 and 1997, 85 new additional schools were built, and 216 were rebuilt. The department does not hold information on the number of schools built between 1987 and 1992. A copy of the publication is held in the parliamentary Library.
	The Department does not hold data on average expenditure on school buildings. Levels of investment are decided locally and authorities may add funding from other sources to the schools capital allocations they receive from Government.
	Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £6.7 billion in 2008-9 and will rise further to £8.2 billion by 2010-11.

Schools: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost of the key stage  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 tests was in each year since 1997-98; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's estimate of the combined costs of delivering the national curriculum tests for Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 is as follows:
	
		
			   Total cost of NCT (£000) 
			 2007/08 50,570 
			 2006/07 51,559 
			 2005/06 51,743 
			 2004/05 43,828 
			 2003/04 40,231 
			 2002/03 38,944 
			 2001/02 28,074 
			 2000/01 28,014 
			 1999/2000 25,693 
			 1998/99 19,672 
		
	
	The QCA was formed in October 1997, so no full year figures are available for 1997/98. In addition, QCA's records from 1998 onwards do not support the split of information between the various key stages.

Schools: Greater London

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children due to enter their first year of primary school did not have a school place by 1 September in the relevant year in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect data on primary school offers or on the number of unplaced children. Local authorities are under a duty to make sure that every child of compulsory school age has a suitable school place.

Schools: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what public funding is being made available for new school buildings at Eaton Hall, Nottinghamshire.

Jim Knight: Eaton Hall is occupied by an independent school. There is currently no Government funding available for new school buildings as the school operates in the independent sector.

Schools: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the level of public access to new sports facilities funded by the sale of playing fields at Portland School, Worksop.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In its application to dispose of the surplus playing field land at the school, Nottinghamshire county council indicated that the new sports facilities were to be designed to facilitate out-of-school and extended school activities and would greatly enhance community participation in sport. The community use of the new facilities was to be managed by the private finance initiative provider in conjunction with the local district council.

Schools: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which schools in Nottinghamshire have been proposed for either new building or significant rebuilding through the Building Schools for the Future programme in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2011,  (c) 2012,  (d) 2013 and  (e) 2014;
	(2)  when he expects Serlby Park school to be rebuilt under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: Nottinghamshire local authority entered the Building Schools for the Future programme in Wave 6 and is currently developing a strategy for educational transformation for the first phase of schools in Newark, parts of Mansfield and Market Warsop. Expected completion dates for individual schools are not agreed until the Outline Business Case is submitted by the authority to the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Serlby Park School is expected to be included in a later phase of the authority's project.

Schools: Sports

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what percentage of  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools are offering at least four hours of sport a week, broken down by local authority;
	(2)  what percentage of  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools offer two hours of sport within the school day, broken down by local authority;
	(3)  what percentage of  (a) secondary and  (b) primary schools offer two hours or more a week of sport outside the school day, broken down by local authority.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The annual School Sport Survey was introduced in 2003/04 and collects data from schools in school sport partnerships relating to the percentage of pupils participating in at least two hours high quality PE and school sport in a typical week. The survey does not collect data relating to the proportion of pupils participating in four or more hours of sport a week. All maintained schools in England have been in School Sport Partnerships since September 2006.
	The following table sets out the 2006/07 School Sport Survey results of the percentage of pupils in each local authority area taking part in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport in a typical week. Further analysis between primary and secondary schools could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Overall, 86 per cent. of pupils participated in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport a week in 2006/07.
	
		
			   Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 80 
			 Barnet 82 
			 Barnsley 83 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 90 
			 Bedfordshire 92 
			 Bexley 86 
			 Birmingham 84 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 89 
			 Blackpool 90 
			 Bolton 81 
			 Bournemouth 83 
			 Bracknell Forest 83 
			 Bradford 80 
			 Brent 83 
			 Brighton and Hove 90 
			 Bristol, City of 88 
			 Bromley 88 
			 Buckinghamshire 87 
			 Bury 89 
			 Calderdale 84 
			 Cambridgeshire 83 
			 Camden 82 
			 Cheshire 91 
			 City of London 88 
			 Cornwall 92 
			 Coventry 77 
			 Croydon 82 
			 Cumbria 87 
			 Darlington 87 
			 Derby 88 
			 Derbyshire 86 
			 Devon 94 
			 Doncaster 74 
			 Dorset 90 
			 Dudley 87 
			 Durham 88 
			 Ealing 89 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 90 
			 East Sussex 90 
			 Enfield 87 
			 Essex 87 
			 Gateshead 81 
			 Gloucestershire 87 
			 Greenwich 78 
			 Hackney 84 
			 Halton 84 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 88 
			 Hampshire 88 
			 Haringey 89 
			 Harrow 84 
			 Hartlepool 90 
			 Havering 81 
			 Herefordshire 94 
			 Hertfordshire 87 
			 Hillingdon 82 
			 Hounslow 82 
			 Isle of Wight 83 
			 Isles of Scilly 67 
			 Islington 88 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 88 
			 Kent 84 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 82 
			 Kingston upon Thames 82 
			 Kirklees 83 
			 Knowsley 85 
			 Lambeth 82 
			 Lancashire 82 
			 Leeds 86 
			 Leicester 80 
			 Leicestershire 82 
			 Lewisham 89 
			 Lincolnshire 87 
			 Liverpool 86 
			 Luton 87 
			 Manchester 89 
			 Medway 71 
			 Merton 87 
			 Middlesbrough 84 
			 Milton Keynes 92 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 88 
			 Newham 91 
			 Norfolk 87 
			 North East Lincolnshire 81 
			 North Lincolnshire 85 
			 North Somerset 90 
			 North Tyneside 88 
			 North Yorkshire 88 
			 Northamptonshire 88 
			 Northumberland 82 
			 Nottingham 84 
			 Nottinghamshire 89 
			 Oldham 91 
			 Oxfordshire 87 
			 Peterborough 82 
			 Plymouth 85 
			 Poole 90 
			 Portsmouth 82 
			 Reading 78 
			 Redbridge 80 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 84 
			 Richmond upon Thames 91 
			 Rochdale 84 
			 Rotherham 84 
			 Rutland 85 
			 Salford 78 
			 Sandwell 83 
			 Sefton 87 
			 Sheffield 82 
			 Shropshire 89 
			 Slough 95 
			 Solihull 85 
			 Somerset 89 
			 South Gloucestershire 85 
			 South Tyneside 91 
			 Southampton 83 
			 Southend-on-Sea 96 
			 Southwark 87 
			 St Helens 90 
			 Staffordshire 80 
			 Stockport 80 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 89 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 83 
			 Suffolk 82 
			 Sunderland 90 
			 Surrey 80 
			 Sutton 88 
			 Swindon 77 
			 Tameside 78 
			 Telford and Wrekin 91 
			 Thurrock 86 
			 Torbay 89 
			 Tower Hamlets 81 
			 Trafford 85 
			 Wakefield 86 
			 Walsall 86 
			 Waltham Forest 87 
			 Wandsworth 89 
			 Warrington 93 
			 Warwickshire 84 
			 West Berkshire 80 
			 West Sussex 85 
			 Westminster 87 
			 Wigan 89 
			 Wiltshire 89 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 92 
			 Wirral 88 
			 Wokingham 88 
			 Wolverhampton 87 
			 Worcestershire 93 
			 York 90

Schools: Sports

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department provided for the Physical Education, School Sport and Club Link Strategy in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: A breakdown of the Department's investment in England into the strategy from 2003-04 to 2007-08 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Funding (£  million ) 
			 2003-04 78 
			 2004-05 116 
			 2005-06 155 
			 2006-07 208.5 
			 2007-08 221.8 
			 Total 779.3

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in which local authorities over 50 per cent. of children did not achieve five or more A* to C grade GCSEs, including English and mathematics, in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The available information on GCSE and equivalent results by local authority area is contained within Table 18 of Statistical First Release (SFR) GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England 2006-07 (Revised) which was published in January 2008. This SFR can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000768/index.shtml.
	Figures cover all maintained mainstream schools (including CTCs and Academies) and maintained special schools, but exclude hospital schools and pupil referral units.

Secondary Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of spending on the National Challenge for Schools in each year between 2008 and 2012, broken down by smallest geographical area available; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: In June 2008, the Secretary of State announced our intention to invest £400 million to ensure that in every secondary school at least 30 per cent. of students achieve five or more good GCSEs including English and mathematics by 2011. Distribution of the available funding will depend upon the assessment by schools, national challenge advisers and local authorities, with the DCSF, of how we can best support the achievement of young people. No decisions about allocations to particular geographical areas or in individual years have yet been made.

Teachers: Manpower

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time primary school teachers there were in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time equivalent and full-time headcount of regular teachers employed in local authority maintained nursery and primary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region and England, January 2004 to 2008.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent and full-time headcount of regular teachers in local authority maintained nursery and primary schools, January 2004 to 2008 
			   Full-time equivalent  Full-time headcount 
			   Yorkshire and the Humber  England  Yorkshire and the Humber  England 
			 2008 20,340 198,090 17,420 169,620 
			 2007 20,370 197,100 17,560 169,910 
			 2006 20,430 198,200 17,770 172,050 
			 2005 20,220 196,270 17,860 172,050 
			 2004 20,380 196,640 18,260 174,230 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618 g.

Teachers: Pay

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether an academic review day counts as one of the 190 days per year on which a teacher is required to teach pupils and perform other duties, as referred to in paragraph 77.3 of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 2008.

Jim Knight: The term 'academic review day' is not a legal term, but is commonly used to describe a day on which a school closes to pupils so that staff may hold progress-review meetings with parents and pupils. Though the Department does not collect data on this practice, we understand that schools using such review days have adopted for this purpose one or more of the 190 days upon which they are required to meet each academic year.

Teachers: Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of the annual cost of the teachers' pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) has estimated expenditure of £6,498 million and estimated income of £4,704 million in 2008-09.

Teachers: Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make a statement on the terms and conditions of the teachers' pension scheme.

Jim Knight: The Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) is a defined benefit occupational pension scheme for teachers and lecturers in England and Wales which provides a range of benefits for members and their families.
	The terms and conditions of the TPS were reformed from 1 January 2007 following a review involving the teacher and lecturer unions, employer representatives and the Government. The review considered all aspects of pension provision and introduced changes that: increased the contribution rate paid by all members and the normal pension age for new entrants to 65; deliver a modernised TPS more relevant to the needs of employers and members; makes sure the TPS will continue to be an important and valuable element of the total remuneration package for teachers and lecturers that supports recruitment and retention; and ensures the long term financial sustainability of the scheme.
	The detailed provisions of the TPS can be found at
	www.teacherspensions.co.uk

Teachers: Qualifications

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teachers in Yorkshire and the Humber did not have qualified teacher status in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the full-time equivalent number of teachers without qualified teacher status employed in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region and England, January 2004 to 2008.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent unqualified( 1)  regular teachers in local authority maintained nursery/primary and secondary( 2)  schools, January 2004 to 2008 
			   Yorkshire and the Humber  England 
			   Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary 
			 2008 300 830 5,210 10,230 
			 2007 330 850 5,500 9,930 
			 2006 330 790 6,220 10,390 
			 2005 310 730 6,350 10,980 
			 2004 310 730 6,200 10,400 
			 (1) Includes instructors, overseas trained teachers and teachers on employment-based routes to qualified teacher status (Graduate Teacher Programme, the Registered Teachers Programme, the Overseas Trained Teachers Programme and the Teach First Scheme). (2) Maintained sector only. Teachers in academies (including those that were previously maintained schools) are not included.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618 g.

Teachers: Sick Leave

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many teaching days were lost to sickness absence in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The number of teaching days taken as sickness absence in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five calendar years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of teaching days taken as sickness absence 
			  Calendar year  Full-time teachers  Part-time teachers  Total 
			 2007 304,200 65,800 370,000 
			 2006 281,600 69,300 350,900 
			 2005 293,900 58,700 352,600 
			 2004 297,300 46,100 343,300 
			 2003 290,100 45,500 335,600 
			  Note: Figures in the table include an estimated breakdown for authorities unable to distinguish between full-time and part-time absences. 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the School Workforce Statistical First Releases (SFR); the most recent SFR was published on 25 September 2008 and can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000813/index.shtml

Teachers: Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of Bachelor of Education course entrants did not have an A-level in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the table and shows the percentage of entrants to undergraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses by their highest qualification on entry. Qualifications included in the "Other" category might be higher than A/AS level so could include trainees who have A/AS levels. A percentage relating specifically to entrants with no qualifications at advanced level is therefore not available.
	Undergraduate trainees only represent 24 per cent. of trainees on ITT courses (excluding employment based routes).
	
		
			  Percentage of undergraduate entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) courses by their highest qualification on entry, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			   EBITT  Mainstream  Total  EBITT  Mainstream  Total  EBITT  Mainstream  Total 
			  Highest qualification on entry:  
			 With A or AS 0 62 60 0 65 64 0 67 64 
			 GNVQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Access 0 11 10 0 11 11 0 10 9 
			 Other 100 28 29 100 23 25 100 24 26 
			 Undefined 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
		
	
	
		
			   2005-06  2007-07 
			   EBITT  Mainstream  Total  EBITT  Mainstream  Total 
			  Highest qualification on entry:   
			 With A or AS 0 70 68 0 64 62 
			 GNVQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Access 0 7 7 0 8 8 
			 Other 100 23 25 100 28 29 
			 Undefined 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			
			 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			  Notes: 1. Mainstream includes Universities and other higher education institutes and Open University, but excludes Employment Based ITT (EBITT). 2. EBITT includes trainees through the Registered Teacher Programme. Source: TDA's Performance Profiles

Teachers: Vacancies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many vacancies for full-time secondary school teachers there were in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The number of vacancies for full-time secondary school teachers in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Vacancies 
			 2008 150 
			 2007 100 
			 2006 110 
			 2005 160 
			 2004 140 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the School Workforce Statistical First Releases (SFR), the most recent of which was published on 25 September and can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000813/index.shtml
	Information on teacher vacancies can be found in table 7.

Young Offenders: General Certificate for Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of people who had been in young offender institutions for  (a) less than and  (b) more than two years were entered for GCSEs in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not collect data on GCSE enrolments by young people in young offender institutions (YOIs) broken down by length of stay in custody. However, the roll-out of the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) through the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from 31 July 2006, means that some data on young offender enrolment within YOIs is now collected. Data are only available for 2006/07, during which 95 young people were enrolled on one or more GCSE course.
	However, many young people in custody are still enrolled at learning providers in the community and therefore their enrolments are not included in the figure provided. Also, many young people stay in custody only for a very short time, and therefore it is not always realistic for them to enrol on and achieve long-term qualifications (e.g. GCSEs), in custody. Therefore, the LSC figure quoted in this answer does not provide records of all of the enrolments of all young people in YOIs. Data are not available for GCSE achievements for young people in Secure Children's Homes, Secure Training Centres, or privately run YOIs.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England: Manpower

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people are employed  (a) directly and  (b) as consultants by Arts Council England to administer funds from the National Lottery.

Barbara Follett: 783 people were employed directly by Arts Council England in 2007-08. Information on consultants employed to administer funds from the National Lottery is not available.

Cultural Heritage

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the annual contribution of the heritage sector to the national economy.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 6 October 2008
	 English Heritage is aware of several studies which have attempted to estimate the contribution of a particular element of the heritage sector to the national economy, but these have not enabled an aggregated figure to be prepared.
	Significant figures are, however, available. For example, privately owned historic houses generate an economic contribution of over £1.6 billion; England's cathedrals generate around £150 million per annum of benefits for the local and national economies; and a report into traditional building skills estimated that £3.5 billion was invested in historic buildings in 2005, a significant proportion of which paid for skilled craftsmen in the building trades.
	Tourism, one of the largest industries in the UK, was estimated to be worth approximately £85.6 billion in 2006. England's historic buildings are a key motivator for those considering a visit to the country and top the table of activities undertaken by those who actually do visit. It is therefore clear that a considerable proportion of the £85.6 billion is generated indirectly by the historic environment.

Cultural Heritage: Pay

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on salaries for staff working on heritage in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 6 October 2008
	The table lists the departmental expenditure on salaries of staff responsible for heritage issues such as quality of architectural design and identification and conservation of the historic environment.
	
		
			  Financial year  Staff salaries (£) 
			 2007-08 1,124,157 
			 2006-07 1,325,700 
			 2005-06 1,280,254 
			 2004-05 1,144,534 
			 2003-04 1,196,317 
			 2002-03 1,119,179 
			 2001-02 1,133,247 
			 2000-01 1,130,964 
			 1999-00 1,222,945 
			 1998-97 1,283,099 
			 1997-98 1,126,041

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of staff in his Department have had more than two periods of sickness of less than five days in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Based on average staff numbers for each of the last three years, the results are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of staff  Percentage of staff 
			 2007-08 41 8.4 
			 2006-07 50 9.3 
			 2005-06 57 11.0 
		
	
	As part of the Department's Diversity and Health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the workplace including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24-hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our "stress at work" policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a stress audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absence—followed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.

Departmental Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There were 11 staff in the Department who had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five year.
	As part of the Department's diversity and health and well-being policies, we have a range of initiatives and programmes in place to support staff and to manage stress, mental health and behavioural issues.
	Furthermore, in order to raise awareness of stress and mental health issues we have implemented a range of initiatives and guidance for managers and staff to manage mental health problems in the workplace including an initiative to tackle the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.
	We regularly monitor sickness absence and reasons for absences as a means to tackle attendance issues and provide support to our staff. This support ranges from a 24 hour employee assistance programme, occupational health referral, rehabilitation programme for staff and reasonable adjustments to work or the working environment.
	Our work-life balance and lifestyle programme supports our "stress at work" policy allowing staff to manage stress through achievement of effective work-life balance.
	We have robust procedures in place to manage sickness absence within the Department and the policy includes guidance for staff on how to preserve and maintain their own and others mental well-being, this includes information on preventing and identifying stress.
	The Department has completed a stress audit recently and the overall departmental analysis shows that there are no areas of high risk stress across the Department, and only three areas of medium risk. We are now in the process of drawing up an action plan to address the issues highlighted in the report. We will also be running a health event in November which will aim to raise awareness of health and well-being issues.
	The Department's signature sick pay policy pays for sickness absence on full pay for up to six months in any period of 12 months absence—followed by half pay for sickness of up to a maximum of 12 months in any period of four years or less.

English Heritage: Educational Visits

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many educational visits to English Heritage managed properties took place in each of the last five years; and how many of these were provided without charge by English Heritage.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 6 October 2008
	 The information requested has been provided by English Heritage and is set out in the table.
	English Heritage has offered schoolchildren free entry to its sites since it was created in 1984. More recently, in response to feedback from teachers asking for more support at sites, English Heritage introduced interactive, curriculum-linked sessions in September 2006 called Discovery Visits. While entry to the sites remains free, schools are charged £60 for these sessions for a group of up to 30 pupils. In 2006-07, 10,400 children took part in Discovery Visits and 27,000 in 2007-08.
	
		
			   Number of educational visits 
			 2003-04 497,000 
			 2004-05 475,850 
			 2005-06 485,000 
			 2006-07 481,000 
			 2007-08 450,000

Listed Buildings

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether English Heritage plans to list the Edinburgh Dome at Malvern St. James School, Worcestershire; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 6 October 2008
	While English Heritage receives applications, assesses buildings and makes recommendations, responsibility for decisions on whether or not to list a building remain, under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State has received advice from English Heritage on the Edinburgh Dome at Malvern St. James School, and he will aim to make a decision by 30 November. He will inform the hon. Member of the outcome.

Pay Television

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress Ofcom has made in its investigation into the pay television market; and when he expects the conclusion of the investigation to be published.

Andy Burnham: On 30 September Ofcom published a further consultation as part of its Pay TV market investigation. This consultation seeks views on whether BSkyB has market power in the wholesale supply of certain content—particularly Premier League football and first run movies—and whether BSkyB has the incentive to limit the distribution of this content to competitors, in a manner which favours its own platform. It also seeks views on a proposal to require BSkyB to make its content more widely available to its competitors. I have asked officials at Ofcom to update my hon. Friend on the likely future progress of this investigation.

Public Houses

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many public houses have been opened in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many public houses owned by a pub company there were in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many public houses have closed in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The requested data are not centrally held.

Public Houses

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of closures of establishments in the public house sector in  (a) 2000,  (b) 2003 and  (c) 2007.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are no centrally held data for the total number of public house closures in the years 2000, 2003 and 2007. The Department's annual data collection on licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003 includes the number of premises licences which have been surrendered, revoked or have lapsed. However, those figures are not broken down by the type of licensed premises or licensable activity and do not include licences where the establishment has closed, but where the licence has not been surrendered. Prior to the 2003 Act coming into effect, liquor licensing data were collected triennially with the last collection covering the year to 30 June 2004.

Regional Cultural Consortiums

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 2 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 51-52WS, on DCMS engagement, what estimate he has made of the costs arising from abolition of the Regional Cultural Consortia.

Barbara Follett: The Regional Cultural Consortiums currently receive annual grant-in-aid from my Department of approximately £1.7 million. Thus, in overall terms, there will be a saving of £1.7 million per annum to the taxpayer arising from their abolition.
	Each consortium has been asked to submit its detailed plan for wind up, including a full analysis of costs. Once we have had an opportunity to review and analyse these plans we will have a clearer estimate of the likely short-term costs. In addition, we are providing an extra £50,000 per annum per region to the four key public bodies to assist them in developing and implementing their plans for the new arrangements in the regions.

South East

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on services, broken down by type in  (a) Dartford Borough,  (b) Kent Thameside,  (c) the Thames Gateway,  (d) Kent County Council area and  (e) the South East region in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sport England: Public Appointments

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what costs his Department has incurred in advertising the position of Chairman of Sport England in each month since November 2007.

Andy Burnham: The costs incurred in advertising the Chair of Sport England since November 2007 were £7,669 in January 2008 and £8,297 in June 2008 (exclusive of VAT).

Sports: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations his Department has received from the London Borough of Enfield on maintaining the Queen Elizabeth II Sports Stadium in Enfield as a sports centre; and what steps his Department is taking to discourage local authorities from allowing their sports facilities to become unsafe for use.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Neither my Department nor Sport England has received representations from the London Borough of Enfield in relation to the Queen Elizabeth II Sports Centre.
	The provision and maintenance of local facilities is primarily a matter for local authorities. Sport England would only intervene in such cases if it had invested money in the facility, if it was involved in a planning issue or if it was in the public interest for Sport England to intervene.

Sports: Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) lottery funding and  (b) public funding has been provided to (i) athletics and (ii) swimming, broken down by (A) local authority area and (B) region, in each year since 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has provided the following information on lottery and Exchequer funding for athletics and swimming in each local authority area and region since 2005.
	
		
			  Athletics/swimming region lottery awards, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Financial year  Sport  Region  Sub total  Total 
			 2005-06 Athletics East Midlands 80,000  
			   Eastern 90,000  
			   London 60,000  
			   National 3,214,112  
			   North East 410,500  
			   North West 286,675  
			   South East 225,172  
			   South West 233,893  
			   West Midlands 160,288  
			   Yorkshire and Humberside 290,000  
			  Athletics total   5,050,640 
			  Swimming Eastern 2,996,354  
			   London 187,530  
			   National 6,922,793  
			   South East 1,694,986  
			  Swimming total   11,801,663 
			 2005-06 total16,852,303 
			  
			 2006-07 Athletics East Midlands 140,000  
			   National 5,513,853  
			   North West 25,000  
			   South East 137,000  
			   West Midlands 56,960  
			  Athletics total   5,872,813 
			  Swimming London 693,000  
			   National 5,909,654  
			   North East 28,767  
			   West Midlands 9,315  
			  Swimming total   6,640,736 
			 2006-07 total12,513,549 
			  
			 2007-08 Athletics East Midlands 43,900  
			   Eastern 107,830  
			   London 1,706,000  
			   National 6,524,483  
			   South East 908,514  
			   South West 10,000  
			  Athletics total   9,300,727 
			  Swimming East 23,859  
			   East Midlands 151,300  
			   National 3,215,437  
			   North East 78,571  
			   North West 50,000  
			   South East 6,295,823  
			   South West 550,000  
			   West Midlands 500,000  
			   Yorkshire and Humberside 290,472  
			  Swimming total   11,155,462 
			 2007-08 total20,456,189 
			 Grand total49,822,041 
		
	
	
		
			  Athletics/swimming local authority lottery awards, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Financial year  Distributing body sector  Local authority  Sub total  Total 
			 2005-06 Athletics Blackpool 10,000  
			   Bolton 50,000  
			   Bradford 130,000  
			   Braintree 40,000  
			   Bristol, City of 40,000  
			   Bury 50,000  
			   Camden 20,000  
			   Canterbury 38,172  
			   Cheltenham 10,000  
			   County of Herefordshire 30,000  
			   Coventry 120,000  
			   East Hertfordshire 50,000  
			   Eden 60,650  
			   Exeter 93,893  
			   Gateshead 360,000  
			   Guildford 30,000  
			   Kerrier 50,000  
			   Lincoln 40,000  
			   National 3,214,112  
			   North Devon 40,000  
			   North Lincolnshire 10,000  
			   Oldham 6,025  
			   Pendle 20,000  
			   Portsmouth 40,000  
			   Redbridge 40,000  
			   Redcar and Cleveland 50,500  
			   Sheffield 150,000  
			   Solihull 10,288  
			  ' South Kesteven 40,000  
			   St. Helens 30,000  
			   Trafford 60,000  
			   West Berkshire 100,000  
			   Winchester 17,000  
			  Athletics total   5,050,640 
			  Swimming City of London 187,530  
			   Forest Heath 2,996,354  
			   National 6,922,793  
			   Oxford 1,694,986  
			  Swimming total   11,801,663 
			 2005-06 total16,852,303 
			  
			 2006-07 Athletics Amber Valley 20,000  
			   Birmingham 51,960  
			   Charnwood 120,000  
			   Dudley 5,000  
			   Lancaster 25,000  
			   Milton Keynes 100,000  
			   National 5,513,853  
			   Vale of White Horse 20,000  
			   Winchester 17,000  
			  Athletics total   5,872,813 
			  Swimming Bexley 693,000  
			   National 5,909,654  
			   Redditch 9,315  
			   Sunderland 28,767  
			  Swimming total   6,640,736 
			 2006-07 total12,513,549 
			  
			 2007-08 Athletics Bedford 20,000  
			   Bristol, City of 10,000  
			   Daventry 43,900  
			   National 6,524,483  
			   Newham 1,000,000  
			   Norwich 87,830  
			   Richmond upon Thames 150,000  
			   Southwark 96,000  
			   Westminster 460,000  
			   Winchester 908,514  
			  Athletics total   9,300,727 
			  Swimming Aylesbury Vale 122,000  
			   Cannock Chase 500,000  
			   Horsham 683,823  
			   Leicester 151,300  
			   Maldon 23,859  
			   National 3,215,437  
			   North East Lincolnshire 290,472  
			   Portsmouth 5,490,000  
			   Sunderland 78,571  
			   Torbay 550,000  
			   Wyre 50,000  
			  Swimming total   11,155,462 
			 2007-08 total20,456,189 
			 Grand total49,822,041 
		
	
	
		
			  Athletics/swimming local authority lottery awards, 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Financial year  Distributing body sector  Local authority  Sub total  Total 
			 2005-06 Athletics National 1,127,000  
			  Athletics total   1,127,000 
			  Swimming National 701,000  
			  Swimming total   701,000 
			 2005-06 total1,828,000 
			  
			 2006-07 Athletics National 367,000  
			  Athletics total   367,000 
			  Swimming Coventry 220,000  
			   Gateshead 21,000  
			   Hartlepool 10,000  
			   Maidstone 15,870  
			   Middlesbrough 15,000  
			   National 372,000  
			   Redditch 90,000  
			   Sedgefield 10,000  
			   Tewkesbury 90,000  
			   Wansbeck 7,000  
			   Wear Valley 7,000  
			   Windsor and Maidenhead 90,021  
			  Swimming total   947,891 
			 2006-07 total1,314,891 
			  
			 2007-08 Athletics Exeter 3,000  
			   National 741,718  
			   Preston -8,000  
			   Thanet 140,000  
			  Athletics total   876,718 
			  Swimming National 484,370  
			   Bristol 130,000  
			   National 120,414  
			   Newcastle upon Tyne 8,000  
			   Sedgefield -1,207  
			   Tandridge 30,000  
			   Torbay 84,615  
			  Swimming total   856,192 
			 2007-08 total1,732,910 
			 4,875,801 
		
	
	
		
			  Athletics/swimming  region  Exchequer  awards,  2005-06 to 2007-08 
			  Financial year  Distributing body sector  Region  Sub total  Total 
			 2005-06 Athletics National 1,127,000  
			  Athletics total   1,127,000 
			  Swimming National 701,000  
			  Swimming total   701,000 
			 2005-06 total1,828,000 
			  
			 2006-07 Athletics National 367,000  
			  Athletics total   367,000 
			  Swimming National 372,000  
			   North East 70,000  
			   South East 105,891  
			   South West 90,000  
			   West Midlands 310,000  
			  Swimming total   947,891 
			 2006-07 total1,314,891 
			  
			 2007-08 Athletics National 741,718  
			   North West -8,000  
			   South East 140,000  
			   South West 3,000  
			  Athletics total   876,718 
			  Swimming National 484,370  
			   National 120,414  
			   North East 6,793  
			   South East 30,000  
			   South West 214,615  
			  Swimming total   856,192 
			 2007-08 total1,732,910 
			 Grand total4,875,801

Sports: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money is projected to be spent on grassroots sports in the London boroughs of  (a) Southwark,  (b) Lambeth,  (c) Lewisham,  (d) Newham,  (e) Hackney,  (f) Waltham Forest,  (g) Tower Hamlets and  (h) Greenwich in each year of the current spending round.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Funding for grassroots sport in London is available from a number of sources including local authority expenditure, Exchequer funding from DCMS via Sport England, and lottery funding via Sport England. We do not hold information on local authority expenditure, and it is not possible to provide final Exchequer or lottery projections at this stage of the financial year. Sport England has provided the following projections based on confirmed awards to date. Final spend will only be known after the end of the financial year.
	
		
			   £ 
			 Southwark 114,629 
			 Waltham Forest 23,300 
			 Tower Hamlets 61,722 
			 Greenwich 153,146 
			 Lambeth 296,604 
			 Lewisham 130,258 
			 Newham 122,474 
			 Hackney 1,037,177 
			 Total 1,939,310 
		
	
	Spending for the period from April 2009 will be through the new Sport England funding framework outlined in their new strategy published in June of this year. Funding will be directed primarily through national governing bodies in light of the Whole Sport Plans which are currently being considered by Sport England.

Sports: Hearing Impaired

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to support deaf people who participate in sport, with particular reference to enabling deaf athletes to attend the Deaflympic Summer Games in Taiwan in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 October 2008
	We are absolutely committed to equality in sport, and the new Sport England strategy aims to develop a world-leading community sport system, which will increase participation from all groups in society.
	UK Deaf Sport, like other disability sport organisations, does not receive core funding from Sport England or UK Sport. However, I know that UK Deaf Sport have already made good progress in raising funds to send a team to Taiwan next year, and I hope they will be able to replicate, or better, their successful performance in Melbourne in 2005.

Sports: Milton Keynes

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding has been awarded to sports groups in Milton Keynes in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 October 2008
	Sports groups in the Milton Keynes local authority area have received £34,109 of lottery funding during the period 1 October 2007 to 1 October 2008. A further four local organisations and groups have received lottery funding totalling £47,507 for sports activities in the same period.
	These statistics come from the Department's Lottery Grants Database. The database is searchable at
	www.lottery.culture.gov.uk
	and uses information on lottery grants supplied by the lottery distributors.

Sports: North East

Doug Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance his Department is giving to third sector organisations in the North East region to support the development and work of local voluntary sports clubs.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that within the North East over the last two years there has been significant work with third sector organisations to support the development and work of local voluntary sports clubs.
	Sport England in the North East, working with County Sports Partnerships, provided over £520,000 to deliver subsidised education, training and development opportunities for grass roots volunteering and voluntary community sports organisations. Work has also continued with the LSC and Skills Active to provide appropriate training opportunities for volunteers.
	The region's 2012 legacy ambitions also highlight volunteering as a key area of work over the next four years. The Regional Volunteering Strategy was driven by the 2012 Volunteering Theme Group and will provide the framework for future work in the region, specifically around the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Sports: Per Capita Costs

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1157-58W, on sports: per capita costs, what the per capita spend on sport from  (a) public and  (b) national lottery sources was in each (i) Government region and (ii) local authority area in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Pursuant to the answer I gave on 19 March 2008,  Official  Report, columns 1157-58W, Sport England has advised that the following per capita expenditure was made to each Government region in each of the last three years from public and national lottery sources. Similar information by local authority area could be provided only at disproportionate cost:
	
		
			  Spend per capita (£) 
			  Government region  Exchequer  Lottery 
			  2005-06   
			 Eastern 0.25 1.29 
			 East Midlands 0.85 2.28 
			 London 0.85 0.95 
			 North East 0.23 1.71 
			 North West 0.37 4.00 
			 South East 0.31 1.21 
			 South West 0.20 0.75 
			 West Midlands 0.37 1.11 
			 Yorks and Humberside 1.20 1.61 
			
			  2006-07   
			 Eastern 0.40 0.93 
			 East Midlands 1.16 0.55 
			 London 1.04 0.59 
			 North East 0.81 2.00 
			 North West 0.83 0.50 
			 South East 0.43 0.42 
			 South West 0.64 0.66 
			 West Midlands 0.50 0.68 
			 Yorks and Humberside 1.79 0.46 
			
			  2007-08   
			 Eastern 0.51 0.80 
			 East Midlands 0.38 2.29 
			 London 0.26 2.17 
			 North East 0.33 1.24 
			 North West 0.27 1.07 
			 South East 0.21 2.03 
			 South West 0.32 1.27 
			 West Midlands 0.41 1.19 
			 Yorks and Humberside 0.31 0.51

Swimming: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 860-61W, what contribution he expects Sport England to make to the £140 million fund announced on 6 June 2008 to encourage local authorities to offer free swimming; and what percentage of the fund will come from  (a) Lottery income and  (b) grant-in-aid income.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 October 2008
	 We are discussing with Sport England its potential contribution to the Free Swimming Programme.
	None of the £140 million fund will come from lottery income.

Tourism: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on work related to tourism in each year since 2002 in 2007-08 prices.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is as follows:
	Grant in Aid Funding for VisitBritain and its predecessor bodies since 2001
	
		
			   Total  Total 2007-08 prices( 1)  Overseas budget  Overseas budget 2007-08 prices( 1)  Domestic budget  Domestic budget 2007-08 prices( 1) 
			 2001-02 45.1 53.1 35.5 41.8 9.6 11.3 
			 2002-03 47.1 53.7 35.5 40.5 11.6 13.2 
			 2003-04 47.9 53.1 35.5 39.4 12.4 13.8 
			 2004-05 48.4 52.3 35.5 38.3 12.9 13.9 
			 2005-06 48.9 51.8 35.5 37.6 13.4 14.2 
			 2006-07 49.9 51.4 35.5 36.6 14.4 14.8 
			 2007-08 50.6 50.6(2) 35.5 35.5 15.1 15.1 
			 (1) Adjusted using GDP deflator at market prices index. In each year since 2003-04 to 2007-08, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has contributed £3.6 million to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's (DBERR's) Single Programme budget (the "Single Pot") in respect of the tourism responsibilities of the eight Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) outside London. The Greater London Authority (GLA) is responsible for tourism in London. DCMS has provided £1.9 million each year, since 2001-02 to 2007-08, to the GLA to support the Mayor in the delivery of the GLA's statutory tourism duties. This does not include an additional £19 million in Treasury funding for the Million visitor overseas marketing campaign in 2001-02. This was matched by the private sector. (2) For the period 2007-08, DCMS also gave £750,000 to VisitBritain to support a campaign to promote rural England following the floods and outbreak of foot and mouth of 2007.